Evidence map›Paper›PMID 18820005›Full record

ReviewHuman reproduction update

Infertility and the provision of infertility medical services in developing countries.

Willem Ombelet, Ian Cooke, Silke Dyer, Gamal Serour, Paul Devroey

Open access · hybridAbstract readReview
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in Human reproduction update. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 250 papers, 14 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
250citing papers in PubMed, 14 pooled it
17.4field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

250 citing papers in PubMed, 14 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 719 citations in OpenAlex.

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  13. Psychological aspects of infertility. A systematic review.The Journal of international medical research · 2020
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  19. The Effects of Bariatric Surgery on Female Fertility: A Narrative Review.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026
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190 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 5 institutions in 4 countries.

Willem OmbeletDepartment of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Genk Institute for Fertility Technology, Schiepse Bos 6, 3600 Genk, Belgium. willem.ombelet@telenet.be
Ian Cooke
Silke Dyer
Gamal Serour
Paul Devroey
Al-Azhar University · EGGroote Schuur Hospital · ZALeuven Institute for Fertility and Embryology · BERoyal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists · GBVrije Universiteit Brussel · BE

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundWorldwide more than 70 million couples suffer from infertility, the majority being residents of developing countries. Negative consequences of childlessness are experienced to a greater degree in developing countries when compared with Western societies. Bilateral tubal occlusion due to sexually transmitted diseases and pregnancy-related infections is the most common cause of infertility in developing countries, a condition that is potentially treatable with assisted reproductive technologies (ART). New reproductive technologies are either unavailable or very costly in developing countries. This review provides a comprehensive survey of all important papers on the issue of infertility in developing countries.

methodsMedline, PubMed, Excerpta Medica and EMBASE searches identified relevant papers published between 1978 and 2007 and the keywords used were the combinations of 'affordable, assisted reproduction, ART, developing countries, health services, infertility, IVF, simplified methods, traditional health care'.

resultsThe exact prevalence of infertility in developing countries is unknown due to a lack of registration and well-performed studies. On the other hand, the implementation of appropriate infertility treatment is currently not a main goal for most international non-profit organizations. Keystones in the successful implementation of infertility care in low-resource settings include simplification of diagnostic and ART procedures, minimizing the complication rate of interventions, providing training-courses for health-care workers and incorporating infertility treatment into sexual and reproductive health-care programmes.

conclusionsAlthough recognizing the importance of education and prevention, we believe that for the reasons of social justice, infertility treatment in developing countries requires greater attention at National and International levels.

Indexed as

Developing CountriesReproductive Techniques, AssistedFemaleHumansInfertilityMalePrevalenceRisk FactorsSocioeconomic Factors

Identifiers

PMID18820005
PMCPMC2569858
OpenAlexW2095998027

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.