High prevalence of vasectomy in New Zealand

The aim of this study was to examine the prevalence of vasectomy and associ ated factors in New Zealand, based on interviews with men. Participants wer e randomly selected from European men, aged between 40 and 74 years, on the general electoral roll. Telephone interviews were completed with 1225 men between 1997 and 1999. Overall, the prevalence of vasectomy was 44% (95% CI , 37-52%), adjusted to the age distribution of all New Zealand men aged 40- 74 years. The prevalence ranged from 57% of men aged 40-49 years to 15% of those aged 70-74 years. Catholic men had a significantly lower odds of vase ctomy, and there was a trend in increasing odds of vasectomy with increasin g number of marriages and level of education of the wife. The results confi rm a very high prevalence of vasectomy among New Zealand men. Comparison wi th earlier surveys based on interviews of women showed an increasing preval ence of vasectomy in each birth cohort from the 1920s to the 1950s. Vasecto my has been popular with men across all socioeconomic groups. New Zealand i s an ideal country in which to study consequences of vasectomy. (C) 2001 El sevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.