Socioeconomic status and fertility treatment outcomes in high-income countries: a review of the current literature

The association between socioeconomic status and fertility is a subject that has received much attention. Yet, little is known as to whether the socioeconomic status has an impact on the outcomes of fertility treatment. This systematic review aims to assess any possible relationship between socioeconomic deprivation and treatment outcomes. A database search was conducted of all publications in this field up to March 2021. Eleven studies were identified and six of these specifically investigated the impact of socioeconomic status on fertility treatment outcomes. Children conceived following assisted conception are more likely to be born to mothers of a higher socioeconomic status than those conceived naturally. Of the few studies investigating the impact of socioeconomic status on fertility treatment outcomes and the results are conflicting, making it difficult to draw robust conclusions as to its effect. It is unknown which, if any, marker of socioeconomic status is the most significant for fertility patients: whether it is the characteristics of the individual or that of their surroundings. Further research is urgently needed.

社会经济地位与生育力的关联向来是广受关注的研究议题。然而，社会经济地位是否会对生育治疗结局产生影响，目前仍鲜有研究涉及。本系统综述旨在评估社会经济剥夺与生育治疗结局之间的潜在关联。研究团队针对截至2021年3月的该领域所有已发表文献开展数据库检索，最终纳入11项相关研究，其中6项专门探讨了社会经济地位对生育治疗结局的影响。经辅助受孕诞育的子女，其母亲的社会经济地位普遍高于自然受孕子女的母亲。在为数不多的探讨社会经济地位对生育治疗结局影响的研究中，所得结果存在分歧，因此难以就其影响得出稳健可靠的结论。目前仍不清楚，若生育患者的社会经济地位存在相关标识，究竟哪一项最为关键——是个体自身特征，还是其所处的环境特征。当前亟需开展进一步的相关研究。