Global, Regional, and National Prevalence and Disability-Adjusted Life-Years for Female Infertility: Results from a Global Burden of Disease Study, 1990-2019.

OBJECTIVES

We aimed to determine the prevalence of female infertility in 204 countries and territories from 1990 to 2019.

DESIGN

We evaluated the female infertility global burden between 1990 and 2019 in this systematic study.

MATERIALS

The Global Health Data Exchange query tool (http://ghdx.healthdata.org/gbd-results-tool) and sociodemographic index (SDI) (http://ghdx.healthdata.org/data-type/estimate) provided data on the annual prevalence numbers, age-standardized prevalence rates (ASR), and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) of female infertility in 204 countries and territories from 1990 to 2019 for various age groups.

SETTING

Female infertility has a devastating impact on the physical and mental health of individuals and national fertility. However, most of the previous studies on this subject were conducted on rather small sample sizes and have certain limitations.

METHODS

We examined female infertility in terms of prevalence, ASR, and DALYs across different age groups in 204 countries and territories from 1990 to 2019 using data from the Global Health Data Exchange query tool.

RESULTS

From 1990 to 2019, ASR and DALYs for female infertility increased globally. At the SDI quintile level, middle-SDI and high-middle-SDI countries exhibited a faster increase in the ASR of female infertility. In 2019, with the highest female infertility rate recorded among those between the ages of 30-34 years and the lowest among those between the ages of 45-49 years. In 2019, high-income North America recorded the highest proportion of primary infertility, while East Asia recorded the lowest proportion.

LIMITATIONS

First, the global burden of disease (GBD) database lacks data for some countries and regions. Second, data access and quality differ across locations. Third, the causes of infertility are not comprehensive, and data on Klinefelter in GBD 2019 in relation to primary infertility were absent.

CONCLUSION

Globally, the prevalence of DALYs and age-standardized female infertility rates increased from 1990 to 2019.