NATIONAL SURVEY RESULTS REVEAL STARTLING LACK OF AWARENESS OF INFERTILITY EVEN AS NUMBERS CLIMB TO 7.3 MILLION

Infertility Affects 1 in 8 Couples of Child-Bearing Age in the U.S., Yet More Than Half of Respondents Claim They Know No One With the Disease

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Oct. 27, 2005 — At the height of National Infertility Awareness Week, RESOLVE: T he National Infertility Association (http://www.resolve.org/) today announced the results of its national opinion poll on infertility, the first U.S. survey to capture men and women's perceptions of the disease. Survey respondents revealed a surprising lack of awareness of the prevalence of infertility, a disease affecting 7.3 million people in the U.S., according to new data from 2002 that will be soon be released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). This represents a significant increase in infertility in the United States; the last CDC data, in 1995, identified 6.1 million infertile Americans.

"It is shocking to see, in this day and age with 1 in 8 couples of childbearing age in this country battling infertility and more media coverage than ever on reproductive health issues, that so few Americans are aware of how prevalent the disease is in our society," said RESOLVE President and CEO Joseph Isaacs. "While much of this can be attributed to the stigma still assigned to infertility, a lot of responsibility lies in the way in which we, as a society, fear talking about or being associated with the disease. Only about one-fourth of men or women knew fertility was a disease afflicting several million. Most thought it was far rarer, affecting several hundred thousand, and couldn't agree on how the disease is defined."

Only 44% of the women and 36% of the men acknowledged infertility as a reproductive system disease and less than a third in each gender knew that a history of multiple miscarriages was a sign of infertility. Only about half the respondents were able to cite the most often used criteria for infertility i.e., not being able to get pregnant after one year of regular intercourse (or six months after a female reaches the age of 35).

Joining Isaacs to unveil the new national data were Charles Miller, M.D., FACOG, medical director, reproductive endocrinologist and gynecologic surgeon at Charles E. Miller, M.D. & Associates in Arlington Heights, Ill.; Diana Broomfield, M.D., FACOG, FACS, reproductive endocrinologist and infertility specialist, and medical director of clinical services at Washington Fertility Center in Annandale, Va. and Rockville, Md., and CEO and founder of Fertility Today Magazine; Rep. Nancy Johnson (R-Conn.), chair of the House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee; Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-Queens and Brooklyn); and Uchenna and Joyce Agu, winners of CBS's "The Amazing Race" and honorary chairpersons for this year's National Infertility Awareness Week (Oct. 2329).

One of the most staggering of RESOLVE's survey findings was that even amid the sharp increase in infertility in the United States, of the 1,000 people polled (500 men and 500 women), more than 66 percent of men and 54 percent of women do not think they know anyone who is infertile. Results from the poll underscore the need for further education to increase awareness of infertility and broaden the discussion around its causes, prevention, and treatment, as well as other family building options available.

Less than 20 percent of Americans are believed to have insurance coverage for assisted reproductive therapies. About half of those surveyed who acknowledged their infertility indicated that cost and lack of coverage deterred their pursuit of needed care. Nearly 8 in 10 women and 7 in 10 men believe that infertility diagnosis and treatment should be part of health insurance coverage.

The survey findings include the following:

Myths abound. The majority of respondents thought conditions such as stress and depression contributed to both male (58 percent for stress/42 percent for depression) and female (64 percent for stress/51 percent for depression) infertility. While these may be outgrowths of being infertile, the evidence does not suggest they are causal. More than half the women indicated that they believed use of birth control pills contributed to infertility when the scientific evidence suggests does not bear this out..

At least 7 in 10 recognized the negative effects of age (as it affected females), cancer, sexually transmitted disease and alcohol and substance abuse on infertility, several risk factors received far less acknowledgement.

Diabetes. The negative affect diabetes has on male and female fertility was recognized by far fewer respondents (41 percent and 39 percent, respectively).

Smoking or second-hand smoke. This can negatively affect both men's and women's fertility. Fifty percent of respondents felt that it could negatively impact a man's fertility and 54 percent thought it would have a detrimental effect on a woman's fertility.

Chemical and pesticide exposure. Only 58 percent of respondents thought such exposure affected male infertility while 57 percent thought it impacted women.

Poor diet and exercise habits. Only 58 percent appreciated that a woman's infertility can be affected by her weight, diet and exercise habits.

High blood pressure. Only 39 percent of respondents knew that high blood pressure could reduce a man's fertility.

Caffeine. Furthermore, only 25 percent of respondents knew that caffeine intake could diminish a woman's fertility.

Age

An issue for both sexes. Only 55 percent of respondents understood that age is an issue for men, but 80 percent realized it was for women.

Timing of decline. Both men and women overestimated the age at which a woman's fertility begins to decline dramatically. Only 26 percent of women and 29 percent of men knew that figure is generally believed to be at age 35. With prime childbearing occurring up through the age of 32 for females, it was troubling that the majority of men and women thought that a woman's fertility first begins to seriously decline after 40 years of age.

Reproductive system origins. Only 44 percent of women and 36 percent of men correctly recognized infertility as a reproductive system disease. Only about one in four women or men associated infertility with multiple miscarriages. Barely half associated it with a lack of success at conceiving.

Patients deserve insurance coverage. The majority of respondents felt that infertility treatment should be covered by insurance (76 percent of women; 67 percent of men).

There are barriers to pursuing advanced treatments. Of those respondents who struggle with infertility, cost (57 percent) and lack of insurance (49 percent) were the primary reasons couples did not pursue infertility treatment. Less than 50 percent of infertile patients seek treatment, and less than 10 percent use advanced reproductive technologies such as in-vitro fertilization (IVF).

Of those respondents who suffered from infertility, the majority agreed with the following statements: "With better insurance coverage I would be able to get testing/treatment" (63 percent) and "Insufficient health insurance has limited my ability to get doctor-recommended infertility tests/treatment" (52 percent).

"What we've discovered from this poll is that until Americans — men and women alike — understand the causes and options around infertility, we will be fighting an uphill battle to help them through their situations," said Isaacs. "RESOLVE is committed to providing support and education to the increasing number of people struggling with infertility and promoting accessible treatment, insurance and adoption options for those with this disease. Recognition of infertility goes back to biblical times. Yet, in the 21 st century, it is still stigmatized and misunderstood and the millions afflicted are unable to get the effective care they need to help them to resolve their family building pursuits. The time has come to recognize the disease, break the silence surrounding it and treat it as the serious, debilitating disease it is!"

"We have come together today to raise awareness of infertility and to dispel many of the myths surrounding this illness," said Rep. Johnson. "It is my hope that the results of today's survey will help us all improve awareness and coverage of infertility diagnosis and treatment. I applaud RESOLVE for its hard work and leadership on this critical health issue."

"Joyce and I — and millions of Americans like us who struggle with infertility — are far from being alone, and yet people are uncomfortable talking about it. There is still a misguided stigma associated with this disease that we are trying to help remove," said Uchenna Agu.

"This is a disease worth talking openly about for which treatments are available," Joyce Agu added. She and Uchenna plan to use some of their "The Amazing Race" prize money to pay for IVF treatments.

Lack of Insurance Coverage for Treatment

As the survey revealed, lack of insurance coverage prevents many couples and individuals from seeking infertility treatment. So far, 15 states in the U.S. have passed.

laws requiring insurance companies to provide some level of infertility coverage. They are Arkansas , California , Connecticut , Hawaii , Illinois , Louisiana , Maryland , Massachusetts , Montana , New Jersey , New York , Ohio , Rhode Island , Texas and West Virginia.

Rep. Johnson noted, "…as in so many other areas, we are finding out that if something is insured, often you can handle it in a way that is less costly in terms of dollars, and far less costly in terms of human suffering and deprivation. So it is time that we begin to talk about this with the insurance companies and the way we talk about that is through legislation of the type introduced by my colleague, Representative Weiner.

The bill introduced in Congress by Rep. Weiner — HR 735, the Family Building Act of 2005 — addresses the insurance coverage issue. "A person's wealth should not determine whether or not they can afford to conceive a child," said Rep. Weiner. "My legislation will require health insurance providers to include testing and treatment of infertility. The results of this survey confirm that the high cost of treating infertility and poor health coverage hinder people's ability to receive proper care."

The RESOLVE public opinion survey was conducted by Waggener Edstrom Worldwide Research in October 2005 to a randomized sample of 1000 Americans 500 females and 500 males participated. The data presented is at the 95% confidence level. The survey was made possible with support from Ferring Pharmaceuticals, a leader in infertility care.

RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association, headquartered in Bethesda , Md. , is a consumer-based, nonprofit group that, since 1974, has provided education, advocacy and support to those struggling with infertility. Each year, National RESOLVE and its network of more than 40 chapters across the U.S. handle over 1.5 million contacts from people seeking information about infertility. For more information, visit the RESOLVE Web site at http://www.resolve.org/, which receives more than 70 million hits per year.

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