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Multiple birth, which is associated with adverse fetal, infant, and maternal outcomes, is increasingly related to the use of in vitro fertilization (IVF). Among women undergoing IVF who use their own eggs, greater maternal age is associated with decreased risk of multiple birth; using donor eggs from younger women may negate this age effect. Data from 6,936 IVF procedures performed in the United States in 1996-1997 on women aged 35-54 years who used donor eggs were analyzed to assess the effect of maternal age, number of embryos transferred, and cryopreservation of extra, nontransferred embryos (an indicator of higher embryo quality) on risk of multiple birth. Greater maternal age did not decrease multiple-birth risk. Rates of multiple birth were related to number of embryos transferred and whether extra embryos had been cryopreserved, and they were high compared with those of IVF patients the same age who had used their own eggs. Among women who had extra embryos cryopreserved, transferring more than two embryos increased multiple-birth risk, with no corresponding increase in the chance for a livebirth. These results highlight the need to consider the age of the donor and embryo quality when making embryo transfer decisions involving use of donor eggs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVES: We examined possible reasons for the disparity in the rate of very low birth weight (VLBW) delivery (<1500 g) in the United States between black women and white women. METHODS: Using data from a population-based, case-control study of very low birth weight infants, we compared the prevalence of sociodemographic and behavioral characteristics between black and white mothers of normal birth weight infants; the difference in these characteristics between case and control mothers; and, using logistic regression, calculated odds ratios for VLBW for black versus white infants, adjusting for these characteristics. RESULTS: Although black women were disadvantaged on every variable examined, they did not report more behavioral risk factors. Among white women, several traditional risk factors were associated with VLBW, while among black women, only marital status, cigarette smoking, and vitamin nonuse were associated with VLBW delivery. Controlling for the socioeconomic and behavioral factors reduced the odds ratio for VLBW delivery among black mothers from 3.7 to 3.3. CONCLUSIONS: Racial disparity in socioeconomic status may be greater than our current ability to adjust for it in epidemiologic studies. The fact that traditional risk factors were not associated with VLBW delivery in black women may be due to the very high prevalence of these risk factors among black women or to different or additional risks or stresses experienced by black women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Death and disability associated with breast and cervical cancer and hypertension can be reduced by early detection and treatment. The authors examined the rates for having obtained a Papanicolaou (Pap) test or pelvic examination, a breast physical examination, and a blood pressure test within the last 12 months among women of reproductive age in the United States in 1988, as reported by the 8,450 women interviewed for the 1988 National Survey of Family Growth. Overall, the annual rates of screening for women ages 15-44 years for those tests were 67 percent for a Pap test or pelvic examination, 67 percent for a breast examination, and 82 percent for a blood pressure test. Standard recommendations for the frequency of screening and survey data were examined to see whether acutal screening practice was consistent with those recommendations. More than 90 percent of women who had a family planning service visit within 12 months received each of the tests, regardless of who provided the service or who paid for the visit. Women who were not sexually active, women with little education or low income, American Indian women, Hispanic women, and women of Asian or Pacific Islander descent had lower rates of screening than others, regardless of their risk status. These findings strongly suggest that the likelihood of having obtained screening among women 15-44 years old is determined primarily by how often a woman uses health care, rather than by her risk of disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: In 2009, the National Association of Chronic Disease Directors published desirable competencies for professionals in public health chronic disease programs. Assessing the training needs of these professionals is an important step toward providing appropriate training programs in chronic disease prevention and control competencies., Objectives: Conduct a survey of the chronic disease workforce in state and local health departments to identify professional training needs., Design: We conducted a cross-sectional survey of state, territorial, and local public health professionals who work in chronic disease programs to identify their self-reported training needs, using the membership lists of 3 professional organizations that included practitioners in chronic disease public health programs., Setting: The survey was national, used a convenience sample, and was conducted in 2011., Participants: The survey was developed using an algorithm to select anonymous participants from the membership lists of the National Association of Chronic Disease Directors, the Directors for Health Promotion and Education, and the National Association of County & City Health Officials., Outcome Measures: The survey included questions about professional background, chronic disease activities, confidence about skills, and needs for training., Results: The survey had 567 responses (38% response ratio). The majority of the respondents were female, non-Hispanic white, and 40 years or older. Respondents were not confident of their skills in health economics (38%) and technology and data management (23%). The most requested training topics were assessing the effects of policies, laws, and regulations (70%) and health economics (66%)., Conclusions: This survey included local, territorial, and state public health professionals who work in chronic disease programs. These reported training needs in quantitative measurement methods and policy-related topics suggest key subjects for future training and education curricula.

Objective: To examine the association between assisted hatching and monozygotic (MZ) twinning., Design: Case-control., Setting: Population-based sample of IVF-ET cycles initiated in U.S. clinics, 1996., Patient(s): The IVF-ET (n = 35,503) cycles and 11,247 resultant pregnancies., Intervention(s): Use of an assisted hatching procedure on embryos transferred., Main Outcome Measure(s): Cases were pregnancies for which number of fetal hearts observed on ultrasound exceeded number of embryos transferred. These pregnancies were considered to contain at least one MZ set of twins. Cases were compared with two control groups: other multiple-gestation pregnancies (>/=2 fetal hearts but number of fetal hearts

Over 600,000 hysterectomies are performed each year in the United States, the majority of which are to improve quality of life for perimenopausal women. Hysterectomy rates for common conditions differ between African American and white women, and African American women undergo surgery at a younger age for most diagnoses. Many hysterectomies are accompanied by elective oophorectomy, and hormone replacement therapy (HRT) is commonly used, especially among women experiencing surgical menopause, despite questions about its long-term benefits and risks. Despite the high rates of hysterectomy in the United States, little is known about how women make decisions regarding this surgery and, in particular, how ethnic and cultural factors may influence these decisions. This article provides a review of what is currently known about the epidemiology of hysterectomy, oophorectomy, and HRT use and identifies gaps in knowledge about women's decision making, with a special focus on ethnic variations and cultural influences, issues addressed by the Ethnicity, Needs, and Decisions of Women (ENDOW) project.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published the first Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) Pregnancy Success Rate Report in 1997. This article presents a description of the law that initiated the public report, a description of the surveillance system used to accumulate data for the report, and some of the results from ART cycles initiated in 1995.

Context: To maximize birth rates, physicians who perform in vitro fertilization (IVF) often transfer multiple embryos, but this increases the multiple-birth risk. Live-birth and multiple-birth rates may vary by patient age and embryo quality. One marker for embryo quality is cryopreservation of extra embryos (if embryos are set aside for cryopreservation, higher quality embryos may have been available for transfer)., Objective: To examine associations between the number of embryos transferred during IVF and live-birth and multiple-birth rates stratified by maternal age and whether extra embryos were available (ie, extra embryos cryopreserved)., Design and Setting: Retrospective cohort of 300 US clinics reporting IVF transfer procedures to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 1996., Subjects: A total of 35554 IVF transfer procedures., Main Outcome Measures: Live-birth and multiple-birth rates (percentage of live births that were multiple)., Results: A total number of 9873 live births were reported (multiple births from 1 pregnancy were counted as 1 live birth). The number of embryos needed to achieve maximum live- birth rates varied by age and whether extra embryos were cryopreserved. Among women 20 to 29 years and 30 to 34 years of age, maximum live-birth rates (43 % and 36%, respectively) were achieved when 2 embryos were transferred and extra embryos were cryopreserved. Among women 35 years of age and older, live-birth rates were lower overall and regardless of whether embryos were cryopreserved, live-birth rates increased if more than 2 embryos were transferred. Multiple-birth rates varied by age and the number of embryos transferred, but not by whether embryos were cryopreserved. With 2 embryos transferred, multiple-birth rates were 22.7%, 19.7%, 11.6%, and 10.8% for women aged 20 to 29, 30 to 34, 35 to 39, and 40 to 44 years, respectively. Multiple-birth rates increased as high as 45.7% for women aged 20 to 29 years and 39.8% for women aged 30 to 34 years if 3 embryos were transferred. Among women aged 35 to 39 years, the multiple-birth rate was 29.4% if 3 embryos were transferred. Among women 40 to 44 years of age, the multiple-birth rate was less than 25% even if 5 embryos were transferred., Conclusions: Based on these data, the risk of multiple births from IVF varies by maternal age and number of embryos transferred. Embryo quality was not related to multiple birth risk but was associated with increased live-birth rates when fewer embryos were transferred.

Objective: To determine risk factors for pregnancy after tubal sterilization with bipolar electrocoagulation., Methods: A total of 2267 women who had bipolar electrocoagulation were followed for up to 8 to 14 years as part of a multicenter, prospective, cohort study conducted in medical centers in nine United States cities. We used proportional hazards analysis and cumulative life-table probabilities to assess pregnancy risk in these women., Results: The 5-year cumulative probability of pregnancy for women sterilized in 1978-1982 was 19.5 per 1000 procedures (95% confidence interval [CI], 12.2, 26.9); the comparable probability for women sterilized in 1985-1987 was significantly lower, 6.3 per 1000 procedures (95% CI, 0.0, 13.5) (one-tailed P = .01). Women enrolled in 1985-1987 who had fewer than three sites of coagulation had a probability of failure of 12.9 per 1000 procedures (95% CI, 0.0, 38.0); by contrast, women who had three or more sites coagulated had a probability of failure of 3.2 per 1000 procedures (95% CI, 0.0, 9.6) (one-tailed P = .01)., Conclusion: The long-term probability of pregnancy after tubal sterilization with bipolar coagulation was very low when three or more sites of the fallopian tube were coagulated. Bipolar coagulating systems can be highly effective for sterilization when the fallopian tube is coagulated adequately.

Previous studies of birth certificates have not fully evaluated how accurately they identify delivery methods that have a historical component, such as repeat cesarean and vaginal birth after previous cesarean (VBAC). The authors used linked Georgia birth certificates for first and second deliveries to examine the accuracy of four reported delivery methods in the second pregnancy: vaginal (without previous cesarean), VBAC, primary cesarean, and repeat cesarean, as well as an indicator of a previous cesarean. From the immediate birth certificates, the delivery method for each of the two births was classified as vaginal (V) or cesarean section (CS), which produced possible sequences of V-V, CS-V, V-CS, and CS-CS. The delivery method for the second births to 106,049 women from 1989 through 1992 was reviewed, taking into account the historical information from the linked certificates regarding the first births. Only 42.0% of women with a CS-V sequence were correctly designated on the second birth certificate as a VBAC; 79.3% of women with a V- CS sequence were correctly designated as primary cesarean. From 1980 through 1988, birth certificates contained a check box indicating a previous cesarean (but no VBAC box). During this period, only 75.5% of 25,491 women with a previous cesarean were so designated on the birth certificate. These findings suggest that cross-sectional vital records data substantially underestimate VBAC and primary cesarean rates.

Background: Tubal sterilization is an increasingly common method of contraception in the United States. Although pregnancy after sterilization is uncommon, it can occur and may be ectopic. We used data from the U.S. Collaborative Review of Sterilization to estimate the risk of ectopic pregnancy in women who had undergone the common types of tubal sterilization., Methods: A total of 10,685 women undergoing tubal sterilization were followed in a multicenter, prospective cohort study. We intended to follow all the women for 5 years by means of annual telephone interviews; for women enrolled early in the study, we attempted an additional follow-up telephone interview 8 to 14 years after sterilization. To assess the risk of ectopic pregnancy in these women, we used cumulative life-table probabilities and proportional-hazards analysis., Results: There were 47 ectopic pregnancies in the 10,685 women; the 10-year cumulative probability of ectopic pregnancy for all methods of tubal sterilization combined was 7.3 per 1000 procedures. The cumulative probability varied substantially according to the method of sterilization and the woman's age at the time of sterilization. Women sterilized by bipolar tubal coagulation before the age of 30 years had a probability of ectopic pregnancy that was 27 times as high as that among women of similar age who underwent postpartum partial salpingectomy (31.9 vs. 1.2 ectopic pregnancies per 1000 procedures). The annual rate of ectopic pregnancy for all methods combined in the 4th through 10th years after sterilization was no lower than that in the first 3 years., Conclusions: A history of tubal sterilization does not rule out the possibility of ectopic pregnancy, even many years after the procedure.

Objective: Our purpose was to determine the risk of pregnancy after tubal sterilization for common methods of tubal occlusion., Study Design: A multicenter, prospective cohort study was conducted in U.S. medical centers. A total of 10,685 women who underwent tubal sterilization was followed up for 8 to 14 years. The risk of pregnancy was assessed by cumulative life-table probabilities and proportional hazards models., Results: A total of 143 sterilization failures was identified. Cumulative 10-year probabilities of pregnancy were highest after clip sterilization (36.5/1000 procedures) and lowest after unipolar coagulation (7.5/1000) and postpartum partial salpingectomy (7.5/1000). The cumulative risk of pregnancy was highest among women sterilized at a young age with bipolar coagulation (54.3/1000) and clip application (52.1/1000)., Conclusions: Although tubal sterilization is highly effective, the risk of sterilization failure is higher than generally reported. The risk persists for years after the procedure and varies by method of tubal occlusion and age.

Objective: Estimate the contribution of assisted reproductive technology (ART) in the United States to multiple gestation births and newborn hospital days., Design: Analysis of successful ART conceptions occurring during 1990 to 1991 compared with vital statistics. Newborn hospital days are estimated from the 1990 National Hospital Discharge Survey., Setting: The American Fertility Society and the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology registry., Patients: Infants delivered from ART., Interventions: Assisted reproductive technology., Main Outcome Measures: Number of multiple gestation infants and newborn hospital days., Results: Approximately 12,327 live-born infants were delivered from ART conceptions during 1990 to 1991, representing 22.2% of all live-born triplet, 17.3% of quadruplet, and 11.4% of quintuplet infants born in the United States. The number of newborn hospital days attributed to ART infants was 87,135 days. Between the periods 1972 through 1974 and 1990 through 1991, the rate of triplet and higher order multiple gestation infants per 100,000 white live births increased by 191%, with 38% due to ART conceptions and 30% to increased childbearing among older women., Conclusions: Assisted reproductive technology contributed 22% of U.S. triplet and higher order multiple births during 1990 to 1991.

Objective: To analyze reproductive-tract disorders that resulted in hospitalization of reproductive-age women in the United States., Methods: Data from the National Hospital Discharge Survey for 1988, 1989, and 1990 were used to study women 15-44 years old who had any gynecologic diagnoses noted in their discharge summaries., Results: Based on average annual discharge rates per 10,000 women, the five most frequent diagnostic groups were pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) (average annual rate 49.3, 95% confidence interval [CI] 43.6-55.0), benign cysts of the ovary (average annual rate 32.7, 95% CI 28.8-36.6), endometriosis (average annual rate 32.4, 95% CI 28.5-36.3), menstrual disorders (average annual rate 31.4, 95% CI 27.6-35.2), and uterine leiomyomas (average annual rate 30.4, 95% CI 26.7-34.1). The highest rates for PID were among women 25-39 years old and for women of races other than white. Highest rates for uterine leiomyomas were among women 40-44 years old and for women of races other than white. Highest rates for endometriosis were among women 40-44 years old and white women. Racial difference existed among all ages in the uterine leiomyoma and endometriosis groups. Average annual rates of benign cysts and menstrual disorders increased with age, but there were no statistically significant differences according to race in these two diagnostic groups., Conclusions: Our findings confirmed the importance of PID as a common cause of hospitalization among reproductive-age women and identified additional gynecologic conditions as causes for hospitalization as well. We found significant age and racial differences not only among women with discharge diagnoses of PID but also among those with discharge diagnoses of uterine leiomyomas and endometriosis.

Objective: To describe patient characteristics and diagnoses associated with hysterectomy in the United States from 1988-1990 using data from the National Hospital Discharge Survey., Methods: We analyzed data from the National Hospital Discharge Survey, an annual probability sample of discharges from nonfederal, short-stay hospitals in the United States. A population-based sample of all women aged 15 years or older in the United States civilian population who had a hysterectomy during 1988-1990 was examined to characterize factors associated with hysterectomy: patients' age and race, diagnoses, surgical approach, and oophorectomy., Results: Approximately 1.7 million women had a hysterectomy during 1988-1990. The highest rates--100.5 hysterectomies per 10,000 women--were for women aged 30-54 years. Total rates of hysterectomy for black women were similar to those for white women (61.7 and 56.5 per 10,000 women, respectively); uterine leiomyoma ("fibroid tumor") was reported as the primary diagnosis for 61% of black women and 29% of white women. Abdominal surgery was used for 75% of all hysterectomies. Concomitant bilateral oophorectomy was done for 37% of the women under 45 years old and 68% of the women 45 years or older., Conclusions: Two-thirds of all hysterectomies for noncancerous conditions were performed for uterine leiomyoma or endometriosis--conditions that are most common before the age of menopause. Future assessments of the appropriateness of hysterectomy will require better understanding of these disorders. Continued monitoring of hysterectomy rates is critical to understanding the appropriate use of hysterectomy, alternative therapies for uterine disorders, and future trends in women's health care.

Objectives: To review current practice in describing pregnancy success rates after IVF-ET, to identify issues associated with interpreting these rates, and to suggest useful methods of describing these rates in the future., Design: Review of literature concerning medical, epidemiologic, and statistical aspects of reporting IVF-ET pregnancy success rates., Setting: The United States., Patients: Infertile couples participating in IVF-ET., Main Outcome Measures: Usefulness and accuracy of IVF-ET pregnancy reporting., Results: Several groups have collected information on the pregnancy success rates of IVF-ET clinics and have discussed appropriate definitions of pregnancy success. The largest of these groups in the United States is The American Fertility Society and its affiliate, the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology. The number of live deliveries per 100 ET procedures and the number of live deliveries per 100 egg retrieval procedures are among the most commonly used definitions., Conclusion: The most commonly used definitions are particularly useful for describing the probability that a live infant will be delivered after IVF-ET is completed. To measure the effectiveness of the IVF-ET procedures and the costs of undergoing IVF-ET, other definitions are also important. Success rates need to be stratified by patient characteristics, such as age, that affect the probability of success.