International estimates of infertility prevalence and treatment-seeking: potential need and demand for infertility medical care.
Level 1 - systematic review of randomized trials
Systematic review of population-based surveys (graded Level 1 by design analogy).
PubMed 17376819 · doi:10.1093/humrep/dem046
What was done
The authors reviewed population surveys across more and less developed countries to assess the 12-month prevalence of infertility and the proportion of couples seeking and receiving medical care for fertility problems.
What was found
Across 25 population surveys involving 172,413 women, 12-month infertility prevalence ranged from 3.5% to 16.7% in more developed nations and from 6.9% to 9.3% in less developed nations, with an overall median prevalence of 9%. In 17 studies of 6,410 women, an average of 56.1% (range 42% to 76.3%) in more developed countries and 51.2% (range 27% to 74.1%) in less developed countries sought medical care. The proportion of people actually receiving care was substantially lower at 22.4%.
Why it matters
This study provides empirical global baseline estimates for infertility, showing that roughly 9% of couples are affected regardless of country development status, while highlighting a large unmet gap between treatment-seeking and actual care received.
Limits
The abstract does not provide systematic search methods, risk-of-bias evaluation, or formal meta-analytic pooling. There was wide variation in reported prevalence (3.5% to 16.7%) and treatment-seeking rates (27% to 76.3%) across the included surveys.
Cited by
- supports Approximately one in seven couples experience infertility.