Reproductive inequity and inferior intrauterine insemination outcomes in patients with limited English proficiency: a retrospective cohort study.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate if language preference influences intrauterine insemination outcomes.

DESIGN

Retrospective cohort.

SETTING

The study was conducted at an urban medical center in New York from January 2016 to August 2021.

PATIENT(S): All women older than 18 years undergoing their first IUI cycle with an infertility diagnosis were included.

INTERVENTION(S): Intrauterine insemination after ovarian stimulation.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Primary outcomes were intrauterine insemination success rate and duration of infertility before seeking infertility care. The primary outcomes used the Kaplan-Meier estimator to investigate the difference in duration of infertility before specialty consultation and logistic regression to estimate odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) of clinical pregnancy among English speakers vs. those with limited English proficiency (LEP) undergoing initial IUI. Secondary outcomes included final IUI outcomes compared by language preference. Adjusted analyses controlled for race/ethnicity.

RESULTS

A total of 406 patients were included in this study, of which 86% preferred English, 7.6% preferred Spanish, and 5.2% preferred other. Patients with LEP have longer duration of infertility before seeking infertility care than English-proficient women (mean 4.53 ± 3.65 years vs. 2.01 ± 1.58 years). Although clinical pregnancy rate of initial IUI did not significantly vary (OR, 2.92; 95% CI, 0.68-12.47 unadjusted and OR, 2.88; 95% CI, 0.67-12.35 adjusted), the cumulative pregnancy rate was significantly higher in English-proficient patients than in LEP patients at the time of final IUI (22.32% vs. 15.38%). This is despite a similar number of total IUIs (2.40 English vs. 2.70 LEP). Additionally, LEP patients were significantly more likely to discontinue care after unsuccessful IUI, instead of proceeding to further fertility treatments such as in vitro fertilization.

CONCLUSIONS

Limited English proficiency is associated with longer duration of infertility before initiating care as well as poorer IUI outcomes, including lower cumulative pregnancy rate. Further research is needed to assess what clinical and socioeconomic factors are contributing to lower IUI success rates and lower continuation in infertility care in LEP patients.