Objective
Insured
patients undergoing treatment for infertility report utilizing CAM.
Usage among low income, uninsured patients remains unknown.
Design
Prospective cohort study in an academic medical center.
Materials and Methods
Subjects
recruited from gynecology clinics at the University of Illinois were
uninsured or Medicaid recipients who were actively trying to conceive.
Subjects completed a questionnaire to ascertain demographic data, and
type and duration of CAM currently used. They also rated the helpfulness
of each method on a Likert scale of 1-10, as well as likelihood of
using CAM over standard therapy, and reasons for not using. Medical
charts were reviewed. Data were used to provide a descriptive analysis
of this cohort.
Results
32
subjects were recruited. They were mostly black females (78.1%) under
age 39 (87.6%) with BMI 33.0 ± 8.3. 25% were married, 21.9% were college
graduates. Household incomes were bimodal: 28.1% had an annual income
of $5,000-10,000 and 28.1% of $16,000-20,000; only 2 subjects had income
>$100,000. Median duration of infertility was 36 months. Among those
with formal testing, 70% had tubal factor infertility. 61.3% of
subjects used some form of CAM. Among users 78.9% chose vitamins, 26.3%
herbs. Massage and special diets were the next most commonly used
modalities (each 21.1%). Vitamins, herbs, and special diets were
perceived as most helpful. Nine subjects (28.1%) would use CAM over
standard therapy. The most common reasons not to use CAM were that
subject had “never heard of it” and cost; 15.6% of participants stated
CAM was “too expensive”.
