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Adolescent health: a Middle East and North African perspective.

Adolescence is a period of physical, psychological and social transition from childhood to adulthood. At present there are 95 million young people aged between 10 and 24 years in the Middle East and North Africa. Female education is increasing in these regions, but secondary school enrollment rates for girls lag behind those of their male counterparts. Average age at first marriage varies between 17.9 and 24.3 years, but teenage marriage is quite common. Total fertility rates are higher than the world average. Pregnancy at an early age often translates into a high fertility rate and high risks for women and their children. Female children's share of food, health care, work options and general care is often less than that of boys, because they are perceived to be less valuable than boys in some countries.

Adolescent↗

One and a half centuries of demographic transition in Nepal.

This paper examines the past and prospective demographic transition in Nepal. Sparse data from the pre-1961 censuses suggest that mortality decline began during 1930s and allow rough estimates of fertility and mortality levels prior to 1961. Fertility decline began sometime between 1961 and early 1980s, with the total fertility rate declining from about 6 to 5 children per woman by early 1990s. The four scenarios of future fertility decline and population growth presented in the paper help draw several conclusions. A continuation of the recent slow pace of fertility decline would result in a total population of slightly over 100 million by the end of the next century (Scenario I). More rapid decline, similar to the median experience of Asian countries, would reduce this growth to below 60 million (Scenario III). Still more rapid decline, close to the limit of what has been observed in countries that have experienced the most rapid declines, could reduce the growth to 40 million (Scenario IV). It is possible, if not at present particularly plausible, that very rapid decline might be achieved by a combination of smaller family sizes and rising age of childbearing. An approach to reaching zero population growth rapidly--and anything less than a doubling of current population--may be ruled out with a high degree of certainty (Scenario II and IV). A doubling of population to 40 million is the least possible growth that can be expected. At the current rate of fertility decline, population will increase to 100 million during this century. If a smaller population in this range is considered to be in the national interest, it is as important to work for more rapid fertility decline as it is to work for accommodation of a much larger population.

Age Distribution↗

Ineffective contraceptive use and its causes in a natural fertility population in southern Jordan.

Based on our interview survey of 574 randomly selected married women from a rural population in the South Ghor district, Jordan, where traditional Arab customs have been persistently maintained, in this paper we analyze the age-specific marital fertility rates (ASMFRs) and contraceptive practices, especially the prevalence and duration of contraceptive use. The ASMFRs fitted the natural fertility pattern proposed by Coale and Trussell's model, and the total fertility rate was estimated to be 7.2. Even though the prevalence rate of modern contraceptive methods has reached 14.3%, because of the recent increase among young women in particular, the users had larger numbers of children than the nonusers and the duration of contraceptive use was short, especially at young ages (e.g., about 90% 24-month discontinuation probabilities in 15-19- and 20-24-year-olds). These ineffective contraceptive uses were related to traditional Arab norms, represented by the pooled proportion of "as many as possible" and "up to God" answers to the ideal number of children (70% of men and 30% of women).

Adolescent↗

Exposure to high fluoride concentrations in drinking water is associated with decreased birth rates.

A review of fluoride toxicity showed decreased fertility in most animal species studied. The current study was to see whether fluoride would also affect human birth rates. A U.S. database of drinking water systems was used to identify index counties with water systems reporting fluoride levels of at least 3 ppm. These and adjacent counties were grouped in 30 regions spread over 9 states. For each county, two conceptionally different exposure measures were defined, and the annual total fertility rate (TFR) for women in the age range 10-49 yr was calculated for the period 1970-1988. For each region separately, the annual TFR was regressed on the fluoride measure and sociodemographic covariables. Most regions showed an association of decreasing TFR with increasing fluoride levels. Meta-analysis of the region-specific results confirmed that the combined result was a negative TFR/fluoride association with a consensus combined p value of .0002-.0004, depending on the analytical scenario. There is no evidence that this outcome resulted from selection bias, inaccurate data, or improper analytical methods. However, the study is one that used population means rather than data on individual women. Whether or not the fluoride effect on the fertility rate found at the county level also applies to individual women remains to be investigated.

Adolescent↗

An ecological study on the association of public dental health activities and sociodemographic characteristics with caries prevalence in Japanese 3-year-old children.

The aim of this ecological study was to determine the association of the frequency of dental health activities conducted as public health service and sociodemographic characteristics with caries prevalence in Japanese 3-year-old children using data for each municipality as one unit. Data on caries prevalence in 3-year-old children in 2000 were obtained from 3,251 municipalities (almost all municipalities in Japan). Caries prevalence for each municipality was recalculated using the empirical Bayes estimation model to make adjustments for variations in municipalities with small numbers of children. Explanatory factors included annual frequency of dental health activities such as dental health education and topical fluoride application programs and various sociodemographic characteristics. Multiple linear regression analysis was applied to examine the associations between caries prevalence and annual frequency of dental health activities with adjustment of other sociodemographic variables. Variations in caries prevalence in municipalities with small populations became smaller after being adjusted by the empirical Bayes estimation model. Multiple linear regression analysis showed significant associations of caries prevalence with sociodemographic characteristics such as the proportion of residents with university degrees, total fertility rate, and the proportion of workers in the manufacturing industry (p < 0.001). Annual frequency of topical fluoride application showed a significant but relatively weak association with caries prevalence (p < 0.001), explaining only 0.8% of the total variation in caries prevalence, whereas no correlation was found between caries prevalence and annual frequency of dental health education. It was concluded that the effect of the fluoride application service on caries prevalence in 3-year-old children, although statistically significant, was of far lower clinical significance than sociodemographic characteristics.

Cariostatic Agents↗

Cluster headache in women: evidence of hypofertility(?) Headaches in relation to menstruation and pregnancy.

Two hundred and forty-nine patients with cluster headache have been studied, 215 male and 34 female (ratio 6.3:1). Twenty-five of the 26 fertile female cluster patients stated that their headaches had no relation to menstrual periods. Eight had had 13 pregnancies since the onset of cluster headache. Six of them experienced remission of their headache during pregnancy. Four women with cluster headache had a history of infertility or premature menopause. Parity rate was low in patients who contracted cluster headache as nulliparae; it was lower than in those who contracted the disease after earlier pregnancy or post menopause, and also significantly lower than in 99 consecutive women with migraine. Significant differences were also found when the numbers of childbirths in the cluster patients were compared with total fertility rates up to successive ages for birth cohorts in the general population of Swedish women.

Adult↗

Immunization coverage and infant mortality rate in developing countries.

We examined whether immunization coverage (IMC) is one of the predictors of infant mortality rate (IMR), as a single indicator representing the availability of primary health care (PHC) services in developing countries. Multiple regression analysis showed that partial correlation coefficients for IMR with immunization coverage (-0.224), logarithm of per capita GNP (-0.294), total fertility rate (0.269), and adult literacy rate (-0.325) were all statistically significant (p < 0.001) in 97 developing countries which make up more than 97% of the population in all the developing countries of the world. Multiple correlation coefficients of IMR with these four variables in 97 countries was 0.921. Thus, more than 80% of variation of IMR in developing countries were explained by the variation of the four variables. The study also showed that IMC was well correlated (simple correlation) with the four indicators of the availability of primary health care services; access to local care (0.730), care of pregnant women (0.603), delivery care (0.666), and infant care (0.553), all of which were statistically significant (p < 0.001) in the 48 developing countries which make up 42% of the population of all developing countries. Multiple correlation coefficients of these four variables was 0.787. About 60% of the variation of IMC will be explained by the variation of the four variables. Thus we conclude that immunization coverage is one of the main predictors of the infant mortality rate. It represents one of the health intervention components which can be used as a proxy indicator of the availability of PHC service in developing countries.

Adult↗

Period and cohort dynamics in fertility norms at the onset of the demographic transition in Kenya 1978-1998.

A characteristic of African pre-transitional fertility regimes is large ideal family size. This has been used to support claims of cultural entrenchment of high fertility. Yet in Kenya fertility rates have fallen. In this paper this fall is explored in relation to trends in fertility norms and attitudes using four sequential cross-sectional surveys spanning the fertility transition in Kenya (1978, 1984, 1989 and 1998). The most rapid fall in the reported ideal family size occurred between 1984 and 1989, whilst the most rapid fall in the total fertility rate occurred 5 to 10 years later, between 1989 and 1998. Thus these data, spanning the fertility transition in Kenya, support the traditional demographic model that demand for fertility limitation drives fertility decline. These data also suggest that the decline in fertility norms over time was partly a period effect, as the reported ideal family size was seen to fall simultaneously in all age cohorts, and partly a cohort effect, as older age cohorts reporting higher ideal family sizes were replaced by younger cohorts reporting lower ideal family sizes. These data also suggest that a new fertility norm of four children may have developed by 1989 and continued until 1998. This is consistent with, and perhaps could have been used to predict, the stall in the Kenyan fertility decline after 1998.

Adolescent↗

Fertilization and development of frozen-thawed germinal vesicle bovine oocytes by a one-step dilution method in vitro.

The objective of this study was to evaluate in vitro fertilization and cleavage rates of frozen-thawed bovine oocytes at the germinal vesicle (GV) stage. In mouse oocytes, spindle microtubule reorganization after GV breakdown is particularly sensitive to cold and readily damaged by exposure to low temperatures, the damage becoming apparent only at the time of the first mitotic division. The effects of various permeating cryoprotective agents [1.8 M ethylene glycol (EG), 1.3 M ethylene glycol monomethyl ether (EME), and 1.6 M 1,2-propanediol (PROH)] and different concentrations of trehalose (T) and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) on post-thaw developmental capacity were examined. When bovine GV oocytes were frozen slowly in mixtures of 1.8 M EG plus 5% PVP and 0.05 M T, almost 80% developed to metaphase II; 22.2% degenerated after in vitro maturation, and none of those that had been cryopreserved underwent parthenogenetic activation. The total fertilization rate was higher (P < 0.05) for oocytes frozen in a mixture of 1.8 M EG plus 0.05 M T or 0.1 M T than in a mixture of 1.8 M EG with or without 0.2 M T; however, there was no difference in the number of normally fertilized or polyspermic oocytes that had been frozen in various cryoprotective solutions. No significant difference was observed in subsequent development using EG, EME, and PROH for GV oocytes. The addition of 0.05 or 0.1 M trehalose to the freezing solution yielded significantly better cleavage and blastocyst rates than the solutions containing 0.2 M or no trehalose. For unfrozen controls, GV oocytes yielded significantly higher (P < 0.01) cleavage and blastocyst rates compared with frozen-thawed GV oocytes. It was found that 5% PVP had a beneficial effect compared with 10 or 20% concentrations for the development of blastocysts. Transfer of six blastocysts derived from frozen-thawed GV oocytes into three recipient heifers resulted in three pregnancies and the birth of one set of twins and one singleton calf.

Animals↗

The effects of type of female circumcision on infertility and fertility in Sudan.

This study explores the association between type of female circumcision and infertility and fertility in Sudan using the 1989-90 Demographic and Health Survey. It is hypothesized that women with either Pharaonic or Intermediate circumcision would have higher infertility and lower fertility compared with women with Sunna circumcision, and that uncircumcised women would have the lowest infertility and highest fertility of the three groups. This hypothesis, a widely held assumption, proved to be largely incorrect. Though women with Pharaonic or Intermediate circumcision did have a higher prevalence of primary infertility than uncircumcised women, women with Sunna circumcision had even lower rates of primary infertility compared with uncircumcised women. This pattern prevailed in multivariate models controlling for confounding variables, where women with Pharaonic or Intermediate circumcision had significantly higher primary infertility. Moreover, though women with Pharaonic or Intermediate circumcision also had the highest prevalence of secondary infertility, once confounding covariates were controlled in multivariate models, there was no significant difference among the three groups of women. With respect to fertility, the total fertility rate was 7.6 for women with Pharaonic or Intermediate circumcision, 8.1 for women with Sunna circumcision and 8.3 for uncircumcised women. Differences in fertility were found to be insignificant when covariates were controlled. The multivariate models were estimated using logistic regression. In conclusion, Pharaonic or Intermediate circumcision may be associated with higher primary infertility while there was no evidence suggesting that either secondary infertility or fertility was associated with a woman's circumcision status.

Circumcision, Female↗

Survey report: Senegal.

Senegal, situated on the west coast of Africa, has a history of high fertility and high infant mortality. Preliminary results of the 1986 Demographic and Health Survey (DHS), administered by the Institute for Resource Development, Columbia, Md., indicate a slight decline in the birth rate and reveal a high prevalence of child health problems associated with poor sanitation and nutrition. Senegal's 7.1 million people (1987 estimate) are unevenly distributed throughout the country's dry, flat landscape. Some 40% of the population is urban, and about 1/2 of these urban residents live in the capital, Dakar. Heavy rural-to-urban migration has been encouraged by the high population growth rate--2.8% annually--and a poor standard of living in the countryside. With about 70% of the labor force dependent on agriculture, a drought-related drop in the yields of groundnuts and other cash crops contributed to the rural exodus and to growing unemployment in the capital. The 1986 survey of family planning and child health collected information from 4415 women 15-49 years of age, and measured the height and weight of their children between 6 and 36 months. The findings suggest that fertility may have fallen slightly since 1978. The Senegal DHS recorded a total fertility rate (TFR) of 6.5 average births/woman during the 1981 Senegal World Fertility Survey (WFS). The DHS also found that women at the end of their childbearing--age 45-49 in 1986--had borne 7.4 children on average, further evidence of a slight decline in births among the younger women. Senegalese women marry young. The average age at 1st marriage is only 16.1, according to the 1986 DHS, and family planning within marriage is not widely accepted. In 1986, 11.7% of the currently married women 15-49 used some form of birth control, but only 2.7% used a modern method. While this is a large increase over the 3.9% rate of contraceptive use recorded in the 1978 WFS, almost 3/4 of the gain was due to a higher reported use of abstinence and withdrawal. In fact, 29% of the married women had relied on abstinence some time in the past, while only 6% had ever used a modern method. Current use of the pill and the IUD increased 4-fold between 1978 and 1986, but the 1986 level is still too low to have much effect on fertility rates. The knowledge of various contraceptive methods did increase significantly between 1978 and 1986. For example, only 18% of the married women said they were familiar with the pill in 1978, while 51% knew about it in 1986. In general, knowledge of modern contraceptives grew from 20%-68% of married women, while knowledge of traditional methods increased from 50-90%., between 1978 and 1986. When asked why they did not use contraceptives, 34% of the women said they were trying to become pregnant, and 19% said religious proscriptions against birth control discouraged them from using contraceptives. The preliminary DHS report also showed that 43% of the children under age 5 had vaccination cards, according to their mothers, although interviewers were able to verify the existence of cards for only 23% of the children. Up to 77% of the children under age 5 living in the Dakar region had vaccination cards (46% verified by interviewers), in marked contrast to the rest of the country.

Africa↗

In vivo embryo recovery rate by laparoscopic technique from rabbit does selected for growth rate.

Rabbit does from R line selected for growth rate present a low reproductive performance and this study aimed to evaluate both the recovery efficacy and viability of recovered embryos after vitrification and the reproductive performance of donor does subjected to in vivo recovery. Does were divided into three groups: 28 does without in vivo recovery (control), 25 does in which in vivo recovery was started in the nulliparous state (group 1) and 30 does with at least one litter before in vivo recovery (group 2). Does were superovulated with a single subcutaneous injection of 50 IU of equine chorionic gonadotropin (eCG) per female, and were then artificially inseminated 60 h later and immediately administered an intravenous dose of 75 IU of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) per female. Does from group 1 and 2 were recovered in vivo 76-80 h post-insemination by repeated laparoscopies at one to four times and permitted one or two parturitions between recoveries [in vivo (IV) recovery]. At the end of the experiment, about 16 does of all groups were recovered post-mortem (PM recovery). All normal embryos were vitrified, devitrified and then cultivated in vitro to evaluate the viability after thawing. A significant increase in the ovulation rate was found in does recovered PM than in those recovered IV in the nulliparous state. However, no significant differences were observed in the recovery rate, the donor rate, the number of normal embryos recovered with at least one normal embryo per doe and the viability after thawing between the PM and IV groups. A significant decrease in the fertility rate, total born, live born and weaned kids was found for does from group 1 in comparison with does from group 2. Results support the use of repeated laparoscopy to increase the number of recovered embryos per donor doe especially in such R line does, if they are permitted to produce at least one litter before the beginning of in vivo recovery.

Animals↗

Ethnic differences in the time trend of female breast cancer incidence: Singapore, 1968-2002.

BACKGROUND: From 1968 to 2002, Singapore experienced an almost three-fold increase in breast cancer incidence. This increase appeared to be different across the three main ethnic groups: Chinese, Malays and Indians. This paper used age-period-cohort (APC) modelling, to determine the effects of age at diagnosis, calendar period, and birth cohort on breast cancer incidence for each ethnic group. METHODS: This study included all breast cancer cases (n = 15,269) in the three ethnic groups, reported to the Singapore Cancer Registry from 1968 to 2002 between the ages 25 to 79. Age-specific fertility rates from the Department of Statistics were used to explore the role of fertility. RESULTS: In the 1970s, Indian women had the highest age-standardized breast cancer but by the mid-1980s the highest rates were seen among the Chinese. Remarkable differences were seen in the age-specific incidence rates by ethnic groups. After age 49, the incidence rates for the Chinese and Malays leveled off whereas it continued to rise in the Indians. While our analyses provided some evidence that an age-drift model described the trend seen in the Indians, age-period-cohort model and age-cohort model had the best fit for the Chinese and Malays aged 25 to 79 respectively. Overall, Chinese and Malay women born in later cohorts were at increased risk of developing breast cancer relative to their counterparts in the earlier cohorts. The three ethnic groups experienced similar changes in their fertility in the 1970s, which likely explained much of the increase in their breast cancer incidence but not the ethnic differences. There was a stronger inverse association between total fertility rate and pre-menopausal breast cancer incidence in the Chinese and Malays than the Indians. CONCLUSION: The observed dissimilarity among ethnic groups suggests ethnic differences in exposure or response to certain risk factors. It is likely that longer and subtler differences in childbearing trends and other risk factors may further explain these ethnic differences.

Adult↗

Urbanisation, household composition and the reproductive health of women in a South African city.

Post-apartheid South Africa is faced with the effects of a distorted urbanisation process. A coherent response to urbanisation includes the mitigation of the adverse health effects of urbanisation. Women, by virtue of the stringent control of their movements to urban areas under apartheid, have migrated to the urban areas at an increasing rate recently. One consequence has been the transformation of traditional household structures consonant with changing patterns of fertility and infertility in the urban areas. This paper describes the composition of households in Khayelitsha, South Africa, a suburb that has seen an explosive increase in population over a 5-year period, from 5000 to an estimated 250,000 people. A survey of 659 households revealed the woman-headed households increased from 11% in those women who had been in the urban areas for fewer than 5 years, to 35% in those who had been in the urban areas for more than 20 years. This was not a function of widowhood or divorce, but appears to be an adaptive strategy adopted by women in the face of gender oppression in a harsh urban environment. The study also revealed the phenomenon of "alliance" household formation, in which atypical households made up of a variety of non-descript combinations of people provide support for women from remote rural areas, another adaptive strategy. Fertility was related to age, income, education and urbanisation. Women who had been in the urban areas for longer than 10 years had a total fertility rate (TFR) of 2.5, while those who had been in the urban areas for less than 10 years had a TFR of 5.8. Reported infertility was related to marital status, education, gynaecological illness and urbanisation, with recently urbanised women reporting more infertility. This probably reflects the different expectations of rural women and changes the mix of attitudes to fertility in the urban areas substantially. These findings have major implications for population policies in South Africa and an eclectic mix of approaches, including small area-specific approaches, to family spacing is recommended.

Adolescent↗

Interleukin-6 biosynthesis in human preovulatory follicles: some of its potential roles at ovulation.

In the present work we explored cellular sites of interleukin-6 (IL-6) biosynthesis in human follicular aspirates from patients undergoing in vitro fertilization therapy and the effects of this cytokine on oocyte fertilization and granulosa cell (GC) steroidogenesis. Biological IL-6 activity from 20-40 IU/mL was present in follicular fluids from 22 patients; it was also detected in 10 of 22 supernatants of cultured oocyte-cumulus complexes and in cumulus cell and GC cultures. Biological IL-6 activity in oocyte-cumulus complex cultures was not related to fertilization rates. Total ribonucleic acid was isolated from follicular aspirates and GC-enriched preparations. After reverse transcriptase and polymerase chain reaction cycles using oligonucleotide primers corresponding to known cDNA sequences for IL-6, a 126-basepair band characterized the amplification product of IL-6 transcripts on gel electrophoresis. To localize IL-6 messenger ribonucleic acid, in situ hybridization analysis was performed using a [35S]IL-6 riboprobe. The distribution of transcripts was more dense (15% vs. 3% stained cells) in GC-enriched preparations, which contained more than 95% GCs, than in original follicular preparations, which contained 20-40% viable GCs; it was not significantly modified by the presence of macrophage contaminants. The expression of IL-6 protein was assessed by positive immunohistological stainings. Biological IL-6 activity was higher, and in situ hybridization signals were more dense and more intense in 24-h GC cultures than in 72-h GC cultures, suggesting that IL-6 biosynthesis was transiently induced. Under experimental conditions of low IL-6 endogenous levels in cultures, adding recombinant human IL-6 from 10-200 IU/mL had no effect on progesterone production or aromatase activity in GC cultures free of macrophages, whereas in GC cultures including macrophage contaminants, stimulatory effects on basal and hCG-stimulated progesterone production and on basal and FSH-stimulated aromatase activities were observed. The present study provides strong support for the view that IL-6 is produced by GCs in the preovulatory follicle at the time of ovulation. In addition, we showed that IL-6 might be an intraovarian regulatory factor concerned with steroidogenesis.

Adult↗

Epidemiology of reproductive and hormonal factors in thyroid cancer: evidence from a case-control study in the Middle East.

Thyroid cancer is the second most common neoplasm among women in Kuwait and several other countries in the Middle East. Most of these countries also have relatively high birth and total fertility rates. To examine potential relationships between reproductive and hormonal factors and thyroid cancer, we conducted a population-based case-control interview study among 238 women diagnosed with thyroid cancer and a similar number of individually matched controls in Kuwait. Among the demographic variables, women with 12+ years of education had a significantly reduced risk of thyroid cancer (OR = 0.4; 95% CI: 0.2-0.8; p-trend <0.05). The average age at diagnosis (+/-SD) of thyroid cancer was 34.7 +/- 11 years. Events such as age at menarche, pregnancy, menopausal status and age at menopause were not associated with thyroid cancer. There was an association with age at last pregnancy and parity. Women who had their last pregnancy at ages > or = 30 years were at a significantly increased risk (OR = 2.1; 95% CI: 1.2-3.8); there was also a significant trend in risk with increasing age at last pregnancy. There was a modest increase in risk among women who had borne > or = 5 children (OR = 1.5; 95% CI: 0.9-2.5). A joint analysis of these factors showed that childbearing during the latter half of reproductive life had a substantial effect on the incidence of thyroid cancer; for any given level of parity, there was about a 2-fold increased risk if the age at last pregnancy was > or = 30 years. A substantial recent-birth effect, in relation to subsequent diagnosis of thyroid cancer, was observed during the second and third year after a birth (OR = 2.0; 95% CI: 1.0-4.1). In contrast, spontaneous abortion seemed to have a protective effect. There was a significant decrease in risk among women who had a miscarriage as outcome of first pregnancy (OR = 0.1; 95% CI: 0.03-0.4) and those who had experienced > or = 3 miscarriages (OR = 0.3; 95% CI: 0.1-0.8; p-trend <0.05). Overall, any female hormone use was not associated with thyroid cancer risk. New association is suggested for a history of post-partum thyroiditis (OR = 10.2; 95% CI: 2.3-44.8). These data support the hypothesis that reproductive factors and patterns may influence, or contribute to, the risk of thyroid cancer among women.

Adenocarcinoma, Follicular↗

On testing Easterlin's hypothesis using relative cohort size as a proxy for relative income: an analysis of Canadian data.

"Measures of Canadian fertility (total fertility rate and fifteen-year age-specific fertility rate...) and relative cohort size (population aged 30-64 years divided by population aged 15-29 years) show a close co-movement between 1940 and 1976 but record a marked departure since then. The application of cointegration techniques to these series (1921-1988) shows that they do not form an equilibrium relationship even over the period 1940-1976. Contrary to the expected relationship between relative cohort size and relative income, income data by age groups show that there is no tight relationship between them. The absence of an equilibrium relationship between relative cohort size and fertility, therefore, does not necessarily imply that Easterlin's hypothesis is false."

Age Factors↗

Subzonal insemination (SUZI) or in vitro fertilization (IVF) in microdroplets for the treatment of male-factor infertility.

PURPOSE: The results of subzonal insemination (SUZI) and in vitro fertilization with microdroplet insemination used in couples with male-factor infertility are presented. RESULTS: The total fertilization rate was 17.4% for SUZI (n = 89) and 49.3% for microdroplet IVF (n = 100). The fertilization rate for standard IVF (n = 510), not including any male-factor infertility and performed during the same period, was 73.2%. The "take-home baby rate" per started cycle and per embryo transfer (ET), respectively, was 10 and 17.6% for SUZI and 20 and 24.7% for microdrop IVF. For standard IVF these figures were 27 and 31.7%. CONCLUSION: It was concluded that microdroplet IVF can be used with good results in cases of moderate male-factor infertility. The normal (2PN) fertilization rate with the SUZI technique was only 15.1%. However, despite the low fertilization rate, SUZI should be considered when dealing with severe male-factor infertility.

Fertilization in Vitro↗