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Self-reported difficulty in conceiving as a measure of infertility
M-L B Dick1, C J Bain, D M Purdie
1School of Population Health, University of Queensland, Brisbane 4006, Australia. marie-louise.dick@sph.uq.edu.au
Human Reproduction (Oxford, England)
|December 4, 2003
Summary
Self-reported infertility is a useful measure for understanding fertility issues in the community. However, validating specific infertility causes through medical records is often not feasible.
Area of Science:
- Reproductive Epidemiology
- Infertility Research
- Public Health
Background:
- Investigating the utility of self-reported conception difficulties as an infertility metric in epidemiological research.
- Comparing self-reported infertility reasons with documented medical diagnoses.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the validity and utility of self-reported infertility in epidemiological studies.
- To compare self-reported infertility causes with medical record diagnoses.
Main Methods:
- Utilizing data from a population-based case-control study of 1638 women.
- Calculating sensitivity and specificity of self-reported infertility against estimated fertility status.
- Comparing self-reported infertility reasons with medical record diagnoses.
Main Results:
- Self-reported difficulty conceiving demonstrated 66-69% sensitivity and 95% specificity.
- Medical records confirmed self-reported fertility problems in 23% of cases.
- Comparison of self-reported causes with medical diagnoses was possible for only 22 women.
Conclusions:
- Self-reported conception difficulty is a valuable tool for assessing community fertility problem burden.
- Medical record validation of specific infertility causes is generally not feasible.
- Enhanced public education on infertility treatments is recommended.
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