Traditional Chinese Medicine Treatment Associated with Female Infertility in Taiwan: A Population-Based Case-Control Study
Table 1
Infertility patient characteristics with or without pregnancy.
Characteristic
Infertility women (n = 5,254)
value
No successful pregnancy (n = 2,627)
Successful pregnancy (n = 2,627)
Birth year
1.00
1959–1969
518 (19.72)
518 (19.72)
1970–1979
1699 (64.67)
1699 (64.67)
1980–1988
410 (15.61)
410 (15.61)
Age at diagnosis
<0.001
20–29
1166 (44.39)
1427 (54.32)
30–39
1376 (52.38)
1181 (44.96)
≥40
85 (3.24)
19 (0.72)
One-year period before assumed fertility date
<0.001
TCM nonusers
1348 (51.31)
1083 (41.23)
TCM users
1279 (48.69)
1544 (58.77)
Number of outpatient visits✝
6.64 ± 7.78
7.62 ± 8.24
Days of administration✝
36.08 ± 47.05
46.47 ± 56.34
Insured amount (NT$/month)
<0.001
<20,000
1066 (40.58)
935 (35.59)
20,000–39,999
1032 (39.28)
1008 (38.37)
40,000–59,999
388 (14.77)
488 (18.58)
≥60,000
141 (5.37)
196 (7.46)
Urban level
0.09
1
910 (34.64)
946 (36.01)
2
861 (32.78)
796 (30.3)
3
409 (15.57)
458 (17.43)
≥4
447 (17.02)
427 (16.25)
Residential area
0.88
Northern
401 (15.26)
399 (15.19)
Taipei
995 (37.88)
1032 (39.28)
Central
459 (17.47)
436 (16.6)
Southern
333 (12.68)
337 (12.83)
Eastern
39 (1.48)
41 (1.56)
Kao-Ping
400 (15.23)
382 (14.54)
Insured unit
<0.001
Government, school employees
248 (9.44)
357 (13.59)
Private enterprise employees
1597 (60.79)
1661 (63.23)
Member of occupational
324 (12.33)
270 (10.28)
Farmers, fishermen
139 (5.29)
114 (4.34)
Low-income households veterans, other regionals
319 (12.14)
225 (8.56)
Comorbidities
Hypertension
27 (1.03)
13 (0.49)
0.04
Diabetes
40 (1.52)
14 (0.53)
<0.001
Hypercholesterolemia
32 (1.22)
19 (0.72)
0.09
Obesity
20 (0.76)
10 (0.38)
0.10
Cerebral vascular disease
8 (0.30)
6 (0.23)
0.79
COPD
143 (5.44)
138 (5.25)
0.81
Renal failure
6 (0.23)
3 (0.11)
0.50
Tobacco use
2 (0.08)
1 (0.04)
1.00
Anemia
22 (0.84)
17 (0.65)
0.52
Polycystic ovary syndrome
104 (3.96)
104 (3.96)
1.00
Endometriosis
181 (6.89)
133 (5.06)
0.006
Irregular menstrual cycle
883 (33.61)
862 (32.81)
0.56
Uterine fibroids
127 (4.83)
84 (3.20)
0.003
Dysmenorrhea
253 (9.63)
203 (7.73)
0.01
Fertility drugs
Clomiphene citrate/tamoxifen
340 (12.94)
959 (36.51)
<0.001
GnRH agonist/GnRH antagonist
0 (0.00)
2 (100.00)
0.50
Progesterone
70 (2.66)
220 (8.37)
<0.001
Bromocriptine/cabergoline
3 (1.41)
110 (4.19)
<0.001
TCM: traditional Chinese medicine; CAD: coronary artery diseases; COPD: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. values for chi-square or Fisher’s exact test; ✝: mean ± standard deviation for TCM users.
