Infertility, medical advice and treatment with fertility hormones and/or in vitro fertilisation: a population perspective from the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health.
OBJECTIVE
To identify the factors associated with infertility, seeking advice and treatment with fertility hormones and/or in vitro fertilisation (IVF) among a general population of women.


METHODS
Participants in the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health aged 28-33 years in 2006 had completed up to four mailed surveys over 10 years (n=9,145). Parsimonious multivariate logistic regression was used to identify the socio-demographic, biological (including reproductive histories), and behavioural factors associated with infertility, advice and hormonal/IVF treatment.


RESULTS
For women who had tried to conceive or had been pregnant (n=5,936), 17% reported infertility. Among women with infertility (n=1031), 72% (n=728) sought advice but only 50% (n=356) used hormonal/IVF treatment. Women had higher odds of infertility when: they had never been pregnant (OR=7.2, 95% CI 5.6-9.1) or had a history of miscarriage (OR range=1.5-4.0) than those who had given birth (and never had a miscarriage or termination).


CONCLUSIONS
Only one-third of women with infertility used hormonal and/or IVF treatment. Women with PCOS or endometriosis were the most proactive in having sought advice and used hormonal/IVF treatment.


CONCLUSIONS
Raised awareness of age-related declining fertility is important for partnered women aged approximately 30 years to encourage pregnancy during their prime reproductive years and reduce the risk of infertility.
Herbert
Danielle L
DL
School of Population Health, The University of Queensland. d.herbert@sph.uq.edu.au
Lucke
Jayne C
JC
Dobson
Annette J
AJ
D000022:Abortion, Spontaneous; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001315:Australia / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D005307:Fertilization in Vitro / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006306:Health Surveys; D006728:Hormones / Q000008:administration & dosage; D006801:Humans; D007247:Infertility, Female / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D016015:Logistic Models; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D016017:Odds Ratio; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011247:Pregnancy; D017584:Reproductive History; D014930:Women / Q000523:psychology*; D016387:Women's Health; D055815:Young Adult
D006728:Hormones