Feasibility of studying subfertility using retrospective self reports

Area of Science:

• Occupational health
• Reproductive epidemiology
• Environmental health

Background:

• Investigating potential reproductive effects of environmental agents on workers.
• Assessing subfertility, time to conceive, and prolonged infertile periods in a worker cohort.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the reliability of self-reported data on subfertility and conception time.
• To compare reproductive health outcomes in male and female workers with existing literature.
• To identify potential selection effects in reported fertility data.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional study involving interviews with 261 male and 155 female workers.
• Data collection on time to conceive for all births and occurrence of prolonged infertile phases (≥6 months).
• Analysis of reporting quality, recall duration, and sex-based differences in reliability.

Main Results:

• Reporting quality was acceptable in 89.7% of instances, improved by data editing.
• Reporting reliability increased with shorter recall durations; female workers' reports were slightly more reliable.
• Male worker time-to-conceive distribution aligned with prospective studies, but subfertility estimates were higher when including infertile phases.
• Female worker data indicated a significant selection effect, as predicted.

Conclusions:

• Self-reported fertility data can be reliable, particularly with shorter recall periods.
• Male worker fertility appears consistent with established data, suggesting environmental factors may not be drastically altering outcomes.
• A notable selection bias exists in female workers' reported fertility data, highlighting the need for careful interpretation.
• Further research is warranted to fully understand environmental impacts on worker reproductive health.