Chy Chan

Intentions and attitudes towards parenthood and fertility awareness among Chinese university students in Hong Kong: a comparison with Western samples

STUDY QUESTION What are the levels of awareness regarding female fertility and the intentions and attitudes towards parenthood among Chinese university students in Hong Kong compared with their counterparts in the West? SUMMARY ANSWER Chinese university students in Hong Kong were similarly over-optimistic about the age-related fertility decline, although they were less inclined to have children and undergo fertility treatment compared with their Western counterparts. WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY Past studies of highly educated young adults in Europe and the USA have found that they are not sufficiently aware of the age-related decline in female fertility, and falsely believe that advanced reproductive treatments such as IVF will overcome fertility problems associated with age. Little is known about the perceptions of Chinese students in Hong Kong, a modernized Chinese city where the fertility rate is among the lowest in the world. STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATION An online cross-sectional survey of Chinese university students in Hong Kong was conducted in 2013. Results were compared with two similar studies in Sweden and the USA. PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODS A total of 367 university students in Hong Kong (275 female, 92 male; mean age 23) responded to an e-mail invitation to participate in an online survey. Intentions and attitudes towards parenthood and awareness regarding female fertility were assessed using the Swedish Fertility Awareness Questionnaire. MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE Like their Western counterparts, a large proportion of Chinese university students underestimated the age-related fertility decline (92%) and overestimated the fertility treatment success rate (66%). However, they were less inclined to have children, were more aware of and less concerned with infertility and were less motivated to seek solutions in the event of a fertility problem. These comparisons were significant at P < 0.05. LIMITATIONS, REASONS FOR CAUTION Self-selection bias was inevitable in the questionnaire survey, and the anonymous nature of the survey did not permit the collection of characteristics of non-responders. International comparisons warrant caution because the Hong Kong sample was older than the US sample (mean age 20), but not older than the Sweden sample (mean age 24). WIDER IMPLICATION OF FINDINGS While this study was consistent with past Western studies on the lack of fertility awareness among highly educated young people, the findings reveal significant cultural differences in family planning and responses to infertility between Asia and the West.

Stress and anxiety-depression levels following first-trimester miscarriage: a comparison between women who conceived naturally and women who conceived with assisted reproduction

To compare the psychological impact following early miscarriage between women who conceived naturally and women who conceived following assisted reproduction.

Impact of treatment decisions and significance of cultural beliefs in predicting quality of life of Chinese infertile women

This journal suppl. entitled: Abstracts of the 32nd Annual Meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology, Helsinki, Finland, 3 to 6 July 2016

Diagnostic Ambiguity and Psychosocial Distress among Chinese Women with Idiopathic and Non-Idiopathic Infertility

The aim of this study is to investigate how women with different diagnoses on their cause of infertility—non-idiopathic (female, male, mixed), or idiopathic (unknown causes)—display different levels of psychosocial well-being prior to their IVF treatment. Women who attended an assisted reproduction clinic were recruited to fill out a set of questionnaire about 3 months before the start of their first IVF treatment cycle (valid N = 330). Measures included anxiety, somatic, emotional, and spiritual distress, as well as marital satisfaction. Somatic distress was found to be highest among women without a known cause of infertility. Women with mixed-factor diagnosis reported significantly lower emotional distress. Spiritual distress was found to be the highest in female-factor infertility group. Results remained significant after controlling for marital satisfaction. The current findings suggest that facing infertility whose cause is unexplained, women may express their distress through somatic complaints. Where a physiological cause can be identified, emotional and spiritual distress are paradoxically lower when both wife and husband are perceived to share the responsibility for the condition. Results can inform healthcare professionals about the psychological needs of women with different diagnoses of infertility prior to their IVF treatment.

Understanding the preferred role in infertility treatment decision making among Chinese infertile women in Hong Kong

Introduction High sperm DNA quality and homeostasis are essential for effective transmission of genetic information to the offspring. Evidence based medicine has now shown that abnormal sperm chromatin or damaged DNA can adversely affect fertility and contribute to abortion. A certain proportion of spermatozoa in the ejaculate of most species contain abnormal sperm because of DNA or protein damage. Recently, MACs has been used to remove a portion of the damaged DNA contained in the ejaculate (Figure 1).