Hum. Reprod. Advance Access originally published online on November 22, 2007
Human Reproduction 2008 23(2):447-450; doi:10.1093/humrep/dem369
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Lifetime prevalence of infertility and infertility treatment in the UK: results from a population-based survey of reproduction
1 Centre for Research in Primary and Community Care, University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield, Hertfordshire AL10 9AB, UK 2 Department of Epidemiology and Population Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London WC1E 7HT, UK
3 Correspondence address. Tel: +44-207-927-2247; Fax: +44-207-580-6897; E-mail: laura.oakley{at}lshtm.ac.uk
BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of infertility and the use of infertility treatment among women aged 40–55 years.
METHODS: Population-based postal questionnaire survey of UK women. Over 60 000 women randomly sampled from the 2001 electoral roll were sent a questionnaire, and those aged 55 years and under who had ever been pregnant or tried to achieve a pregnancy (n = 6584) were asked to provide a reproductive history.
RESULTS: Overall, 2.4% of women aged 40–55 years had unresolved infertility with no pregnancies, and a further 1.9% had been pregnant but not achieved a live birth. The prevalence of unresolved fertility did not differ among birth cohorts. Sixteen percent of women reported ever consulting a doctor because of infertility and 8% reported receiving treatment to conceive. Across the whole sample, 4.2% of women reported that they had achieved at least one pregnancy as a result of treatment. Compared with earlier birth cohorts, women born later were more likely to report consultations (18% versus 13%) and treatment (9% versus 6%) for infertility, and pregnancies as a result of infertility treatment (6.7% versus 2.7%). Among those who reported medical consultations, women born more recently first consulted at a later age compared with those born earlier.
CONCLUSIONS: Although both the number of women seeking medical care for infertility and the proportion reporting pregnancies as a result of infertility treatment has increased, there is no evidence to support an overall increase in unresolved infertility over the past 15 years. The vast majority of women aged 40–55 who reported difficulties conceiving did have a child, or children, at some point in their lives.
Key words: infertility/unresolved infertility/infertility treatment/pregnancy/IVF
Submitted on July 25, 2007; resubmitted on October 9, 2007; accepted on October 22, 2007.