title: Chinese Herbal Products for Female Infertility in Taiwan: A Population-Based Cohort Study.
abstract: Female infertility and low birth rate are significant public health issues with profound social, psychological, and economic consequences. Some infertile women resort to conventional, complementary, or alternative therapies to conceive. The aim of this study was to identify the Chinese herbal products (CHPs) most commonly used for female infertility in Taiwan. The usage of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and the frequency of CHP prescriptions to infertile women were determined based on a nationwide 1-million randomly sampled cohort of National Health Insurance Research Database beneficiaries. Descriptive statistics and multiple logistic regression analysis were employed to estimate the adjusted odds ratio (aOR) for TCM usage and potential risk factors. In total, 8766 women with newly diagnosed infertility were included in this study. Of those, 8430 (96.17%) had sought TCM treatment in addition to visiting the gynecologist. We noted that female infertility patients with risk factors (e.g., endometriosis, uterine fibroids, or irregular menstrual cycle) were more likely to use TCM than those without TCM medication (aOR = 1.83, 1.87, and 1.79, respectively). The most commonly used formula and single CHP were Dang-Gui-Sha-Yao-San (17.25%) and Semen Cuscutae (27.40%), respectively. CHP formula combinations (e.g., Dang-Gui-Sha-Yao-San plus Wen-Jing-Tang 3.10%) or single Chinese herbal combinations (e.g., Semen Cuscutae plus Leonurus japonicus 6.31%) were also commonly used to treat female infertility. Further well-conducted, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled studies will be needed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of these CHP combinations for female infertility.
authors.affiliation: From the Department of Chinese Medicine (Y-CH, C-WK, Y-NL, B-YW, I-LH, W-LH), Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital and School of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chang Gung University College of Medicine; School of Chinese Medicine for Post Baccalaureate (Y-CH), I-Shou University, Kaohsiung; Management Office for Health Data (C-CL), China Medical University Hospital, Taichung; Fooyin University College of Nursing (W-LH); and Kaohsiung Medical University College of Medicine (W-LH), Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Yu-Chiang
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Hung
authors.forename: Chao-Wei
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Kao
authors.forename: Che-Chen
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Yen-Nung
authors.initials: YN
authors.lastname: Liao
authors.forename: Bei-Yu
authors.initials: BY
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: I-Ling
authors.initials: IL
authors.lastname: Hung
authors.forename: Wen-Long
authors.initials: WL
authors.lastname: Hu
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007247:Infertility, Female / Q000188:drug therapy*; D008517:Phytotherapy
chemical_list: D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal