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. 2023 Nov 13;23(1):597.
doi: 10.1186/s12905-023-02754-w.

Induced abortions among Chinese adolescent girls

Tian Wang  1 , Lei Si  2 , Quanbao Jiang  3
Affiliations

Induced abortions among Chinese adolescent girls

Tian Wang et al. BMC Womens Health. .

Abstract

Background: Induced abortion among adolescent girls is a global public health issue and a serious challenge in China, but still remains under-examined. We aimed to examine the overall trend and characteristics of induced abortions among Chinese adolescent girls and to investigate the factors associated with induced abortion.

Study design: Based on the 2017 China Fertility Survey, this study examined the trend and characteristics of induced abortions among adolescent girls with statistical analysis and multiple indicators of descriptive statistics from period and cohort perspectives, including induced abortion proportion and rate, age-specific cumulative proportion, and age-specific cumulative number of induced abortions in adolescent girls.

Results: Between 1996 and 2016, the proportion and rate of adolescent induced abortions first increased and then decreased, and the mean age at the time of induced abortions among adolescent girls declined. The cumulative proportion of women who had experienced induced abortion at the age of 15-19 in a cohort is less than 2.5% but shows an upward trend. Over 70% of all adolescent induced abortions are premarital. The proportion of women with unintended pregnancy experiences increased and is higher among rural, less educated, and ethnic minority women. Similarly, the prevalence of induced abortion is higher among adolescent girls who live in rural areas, are less educated, and come from ethnic minorities. The cumulative number of induced abortions and premarital abortions increased with later cohorts.

Conclusions: This study shows an upward trend in adolescent-induced abortion and a decline in the age at the time of the induced abortion. Women in later birth cohort have a higher proportion of having experienced adolescent induced abortion. Adolescent girls who live in rural areas, who are less educated, or who are from ethnic minorities, are more likely to undergo induced abortions at the age of 15-19. More appropriate educational efforts and interventions are urgently needed to reduce the incidence of adolescent induced abortions.

Keywords: Adolescent girls; China; Induced abortion; Unmarried women.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Overall trend of induced abortions among women aged 15-19. (1A) Adolescent induced abortion proportions and rates in 1996-2016. (1B) Mean age of adolescent induced abortions in 1996-2016. Note: Mean_age 1st denotes the mean age at induced abortions among first pregnancies. Total denotes that the mean age at all induced abortions
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Unintended pregnancies and induced abortion proportions at the age of 15-19. (2A) Cumulative proportion of unintended pregnancies by cohort. (2B) Cumulative proportion of unintended pregnancies by residence. (2C) Cumulative proportion of unintended pregnancies by education. (2D) Cumulative proportion of unintended pregnancies by ethnic group. (2E) Induced abortion proportion of unintended and intended pregnancies. (2F) Induced abortion proportion of unintended pregnancies by residence. Note: U and R represent Urban and Rural respectively; J, H, and C respectively represent junior middle school and below, high school education, college and above. Minority includes all other ethnic groups excluding Han Chinese
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Age-specific cumulative proportion of first induced abortion at the age of 15-19 in a cohort. (3A) By cohort. (3B) By residence. (3C) By education. (3D) By ethnic group. Note: U and R represent Urban and Rural respectively; J, H, and C respectively represent junior middle school and below, high school education, college and above. Minority includes all other ethnic groups excluding Han Chinese
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Age-specific cumulative proportion of repeat induced abortions in a cohort. (4A) By cohort. (4B) By residence. (4C) By education. (4D) By ethnic group. (4E) Age-specific cumulative proportion of first induced abortion and progression ratio of repeat induced abortions. Note: In Panel 4E, “First 25-29” refers to women in 25-29 cohort who have experienced the first induced abortion, “Second 25-29” refers to women who have experienced repeat induced abortions among women who had experienced the first abortion in 25-29 cohort
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
Age-specific cumulative number of induced abortions in a cohort. (5A) By cohort. (5B) By residence. (5C) By education. (5D) By ethnic group. (5E) Age-specific cumulative number of premarital induced abortion. Note: U and R represent Urban and Rural respectively; J, H, and C respectively represent junior middle school and below, high school education, college and above. Minority includes all other ethnic groups excluding Han Chinese
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