[Subfertility in South Limburg: calculation of incidence and appeal for specialist care].
OBJECTIVE
To estimate the prevalence of subfertility in a region of the Netherlands clearly defined as to medical care.


METHODS
Descriptive.


METHODS
Six regional hospitals and one university medical centre.


METHODS
Prospective registration of all 1060 new patients attending one of the seven hospitals and complaining of subfertility, in 1992.


RESULTS
After exclusion of patients living outside the health care region, and/or having pursued pregnancy for less than 12 months, and/or having visited one of the other hospitals (with the same complaint) before, 536 patients remained. For this region, with a population of 641,876 at the time of the study, we estimated the cumulative incidence of subfertility in 1992 to be 10.4% (95% confidence interval: 9.6-11.2%). Between 14 and 16.5% of couples sought specialist medical care for their fertility problem.


CONCLUSIONS
Between 14 and 16.5% of couples sought specialist medical care for fertility problems during their reproductive life. More than 10 percent fulfilled the criteria for subfertility.
Rijksuniversiteit Limburg, Maastricht.
M P
MP
Beurskens
J W
JW
Maas
J L
JL
Evers
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003710:Demography; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007246:Infertility / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000628:therapy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009426:Netherlands / Q000453:epidemiology; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012017:Referral and Consultation
Subfertiliteit in Zuid-Limburg: berekening van incidentie en van beroep op specialistische zorg.