Skip Navigation



Human Reproduction Update Advance Access published online on August 25, 2005
Human Reproduction Update, doi:10.1093/humupd/dmi032
This Article
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
11/6/607    most recent
dmi032v1
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Olsen, J.
Right arrow Articles by Ernst, E.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Olsen, J.
Right arrow Articles by Ernst, E.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© The Author 2005. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oupjournals.org
Received October 21, 2004
Revised June 29, 2005
Accepted July 19, 2005

Article

Using infertile patients in epidemiologic studies on subfecundity and embryonal loss

J. Olsen 1*, J.P. Bonde 2, N.H. Hjøllund 2, O. Basso 3, and E. Ernst 4

1 The Danish Epidemiology Science Centre, University of Aarhus, Aarhus C, Denmark; Department of Epidemiology, UCLA School of Public Health, Los Angeles, CA, USA
2 Department of Occupational Medicine, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark
3 The Danish Epidemiology Science Centre, University of Aarhus, Aarhus C, Denmark
4 Department of Gynaecology and Obstetrics, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark

* To whom correspondence should be addressed.
J. Olsen, E-mail: jo{at}soci.au.dk


  Abstract

Subfecundity is a frequent and serious problem that may sometimes be preventable, but we need to know more about its determinants. Different epidemiologic designs are available. The best of these use prospectively collected data from the population, but they are time consuming, expensive and often hampered by low-participation rates. Most patients undergoing infertility treatment are closely monitored for clinical reasons, making it feasible to use secondary data to study the period from conception to implantation and pregnancy. In spite that infertility patients are highly selected, there are specific exposure-effect relations that can be studied in cohorts of infertility patients. These patients offer a potentially useful setting for studying exposures that operate late in fertilization, whereas the designs may be inadequate to identify exposures that cause reduced sperm counts, anovulation and total occlusion. The clinical sampling and the treatment set limitations for what can be studied. In certain situations, infertile patients can, however, provide useful epidemiologic evidence for learning about the causes of subfecundity.

Keywords: epidemiology/ICSI outcome/infertility/IVF.
Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?




Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.