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(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Using complementary or alternative therapies (CATs) to treat infertility in women may lessen the effectiveness of traditional medical treatment for the condition.
A new study from the United Kingdom looked at the effects of complementary therapies in treating fertility. Many women use the treatments despite little evidence they are effective.
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Researchers looked at the psychosocial and medical profiles of 818 Danish women when they started IVF treatment then looked at which women used complementary therapy in the next 12 months.
Results show women who used CATs had a 20-percent lower rate of pregnancy success over the 12-month period. However, the authors say they cannot make a direct causal link between the two.
"It may be that complementary therapies diminish the effectiveness of medical interventions, as has been shown in previous research," lead author Dr. Jacky Boivin, Cardiff University, was quoted as saying. "Or it may simply be that persistent treatment failure encourages women to seek out CATs because they are more willing to try anything to get pregnant."
The study also revealed women who used complementary treatments were more distressed and emotionally affected by their fertility problems than non-users. Alternative therapies included reflexology and nutritional supplements. The findings may mean women use CATs to reduce stress. So far, research shows psychological therapies are more effective in stress reduction, but future studies may further compare the two.
The authors now want to study the same group of women over a five-year period to see how many of them become pregnant in the longer term. The researchers say they are concerned persistent treatment failure may cause women to become more apt to try ineffective CATs or other unproven treatments.
This article was reported by Ivanhoe.com, which offers Medical Alerts by e-mail every day of the week. To subscribe, click on: http://www.ivanhoe.com/newsalert/.
SOURCE: 23rd Annual Meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology in Lyon, France July 1-4, 2007
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