Patterns of infertility in Poland - multicenter study.

OBJECTIVE: Infertility seems to be a great worldwide problem. Many publications present the epidemiology of infertility, but the percentage distribution of factors responsible for infertility varies significantly. The objective was to define infertility profiles in Poland assessed according to the information provided by 4 large infertility centers: Bialystok, Poznan, Szczecin and Warsaw.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: Multicenter study was performed. Couples with primary infertility, attending one of the four centers in Poland, were asked to fulfill a questionnaire. Overall 1517 questionaires were analysed: Bialystok - 468, Poznan - 325, Szczecin - 341, Warsaw - 383. Only semen analyses fulfilling WHO Manual 1999 criteria were used in the study and were afterwards compared with 2010 WHO standards.

RESULTS: Results from 4 Polish centers showed that the average age of infertile women was 31.41 years and of infertile men 33.2 years. The mean duration of infertility equaled 3.31 years. Among 1517 surveyed women, no pathological findings concerning reproductive abilities were observed in 1088 cases (71.72%). In the remaining patients the following were diagnosed: uterine factor in 26 (6.02%) women, ovulation disorders in 134 (31.33%), including 70 (16.27%) of PCOS patients, tubal factor in 165 (38.55%) and endometriosis in 145 (33.73%). The average of 18.9% of couples had a mixed cause of infertility, while idiopathic factor was assigned to 15.99%. In the study male factor accounted for 55.73% of cases. Change of reference values for semen analysis implemented in 2010 caused an increase in the number of normal results and asthenozoospermia.

CONCLUSIONS: According to the data provided by Polish infertility centers the rate of male factor as a reason of infertility has reached 55.73%. However, the implementation of new reference values for semen analysis in 2010 led to the decrease in male factor frequency and the increase in the rate of idiophatic infertility. Anovulatory cycles and endometriosis are the main reasons affecting the female reproductive potential.