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Observational Study
. 2016 Mar;95(11):e3075.
doi: 10.1097/MD.0000000000003075.

Chinese Herbal Products for Female Infertility in Taiwan: A Population-Based Cohort Study

Yu-Chiang Hung  1 , Chao-Wei Kao, Che-Chen Lin, Yen-Nung Liao, Bei-Yu Wu, I-Ling Hung, Wen-Long Hu
Affiliations
Observational Study

Chinese Herbal Products for Female Infertility in Taiwan: A Population-Based Cohort Study

Yu-Chiang Hung et al. Medicine (Baltimore). 2016 Mar.

Abstract

Female infertility and low birth rate are significant public health issues with profound social, psychological, and economic consequences. Some infertile women resort to conventional, complementary, or alternative therapies to conceive. The aim of this study was to identify the Chinese herbal products (CHPs) most commonly used for female infertility in Taiwan. The usage of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and the frequency of CHP prescriptions to infertile women were determined based on a nationwide 1-million randomly sampled cohort of National Health Insurance Research Database beneficiaries. Descriptive statistics and multiple logistic regression analysis were employed to estimate the adjusted odds ratio (aOR) for TCM usage and potential risk factors. In total, 8766 women with newly diagnosed infertility were included in this study. Of those, 8430 (96.17%) had sought TCM treatment in addition to visiting the gynecologist. We noted that female infertility patients with risk factors (e.g., endometriosis, uterine fibroids, or irregular menstrual cycle) were more likely to use TCM than those without TCM medication (aOR = 1.83, 1.87, and 1.79, respectively). The most commonly used formula and single CHP were Dang-Gui-Sha-Yao-San (17.25%) and Semen Cuscutae (27.40%), respectively. CHP formula combinations (e.g., Dang-Gui-Sha-Yao-San plus Wen-Jing-Tang 3.10%) or single Chinese herbal combinations (e.g., Semen Cuscutae plus Leonurus japonicus 6.31%) were also commonly used to treat female infertility. Further well-conducted, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled studies will be needed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of these CHP combinations for female infertility.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Fertility rate of women of childbearing age in Taiwan (1951–2014)..
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Flowchart of recruitment of subjects from the 1-million random sample of the National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD) from 2000 to 2011 in Taiwan. TCM = Traditional Chinese medicine.
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3
Distribution of the number Chinese herbal products per prescription.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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