OCCUPATION AND THE CLINICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF INFERTILE COUPLES

Background: The influence of social class on the composition of infert ile groups and on their use of health care services could reflect how the latter meet the non-urgent needs for health care in populations. M ethods: Clinical, demographic, and occupational variables were collect ed prospectively from 2,198 couples newly registered in 11 infertility clinics. Time to diagnostic laparoscopy and time to treatment were ev aluated with the use of proportional hazards analysis. Results: 1) In the upper quartile of family income, the duration of infertility was s ix months less than for couples with the lowest incomes; 2) Tubal infe rtility was independently associated with lower family income; 3) Occu pation and income were unrelated to the likelihood of either a complet e diagnostic assessment or treatment for the infertility. Conclusions: Social class seems an important factor in the distribution of inferti lity diagnoses, although occupation and income were not associated wit h important clinical management decisions.