Awareness, Attitude, and Fertility Desire in Elective Oocyte Cryopreservation of Adults in Four Areas of China

Figures & data

Figure 1 The questionnaire development.

Abbreviation: eOC, elective oocyte cryopreservation.

Table 1 General Information of the Study

Variable	Overall (N=442)
Demographic Characteristics
Age
Mean (SD)	39.3 (14.3)
Median (Min, Max)	36.0 (18.0, 71.0)
Gender
Male	183 (41.4%)
Female	259 (58.6%)
Education
High school and below	82 (18.6%)
Bachelor	280 (63.3%)
Master and above	80 (18.1%)
Years of working
1–2 years	42 (9.5%)
3–5 years	30 (6.8%)
6–10 years	74 (16.7%)
11 years and above	241 (54.5%)
Without experience	55 (12.4%)
Professional
Government officials	38 (8.6%)
Professional and technical personnel	189 (42.8%)
Ordinary staff	77 (17.4%)
Student	57 (12.9%)
Others	81 (18.3%)
You are One-Child in your family
Yes	145 (32.8%)
No	297 (67.2%)
Number of children you have
None	155 (35.1%)
1 child	210 (47.5%)
2 children	77 (17.4%)
Relationship status
Married	299 (67.6%)
Single	128 (29.0%)
Unmarried but living with partner	15 (3.4%)
Income per month
10,000 yuan and above	46 (10.4%)
4000–10,000 yuan	271 (61.3%)
4000 yuan and below	125 (28.3%)
Area
Developing	312 (70.59%)
Developed	130 (29.41%)
The awareness of eOC
AW1-Have you ever heard of eOC
I have not heard of it	74 (16.7%)
I heard of it and understand	244 (55.2%)
I heard of it but do not understand	124 (28.1%)
AW2-How have you heard about eOC?
Do not know	95 (21.5%)
Family/Friends/Media/Common sense	281 (63.6%)
Medical personnel engaged in assisted reproductive technology	15 (3.4%)
School/University/Research papers	51 (11.5%)
AW3-Do you know the cost of eOC?
Yes	30 (6.8%)
No	412 (93.2%)
Attitudes towards eOC
High	145 (32.8%)
Medium	134 (30.3%)
Low	163 (36.9%)

Abbreviations: SD, Standard deviation; Min, Minimum; Max, Maximum; eOC, elective oocyte cryopreservation.

Table 2 Distribution of Awareness of Elective OC

Items	Variables	Answer	Number	Percentage (%)
AW1	Have you ever heard of eOC before this survey?	Never heard of it	74	16.74
		Yes, know it clearly	244	55.2
		Yes, but do not know it clearly	124	28.05
AW2	How have you heard about eOC?	Not sure	95	21.49
		From ART healthcare workers	15	3.39
		Family/friends/media	281	63.57
		University/research paper	51	11.54
AW3	Do you know the cost of eOC?	No	412	93.21
		Yes	30	6.79

Abbreviation: eOC, elective oocyte cryopreservation.

Table 3 Distribution of Attitude Towards Using Elective OC for Reproduction

Items	Variables	Answer	Number	Percentage (%)
AT1	eOC is bad for women’s health	Strongly disagree	41	9.28
		Disagree	143	32.35
		Neutrality	195	44.12
		Agree	55	12.44
		Strongly agree	8	1.81
AT2	eOC is bad for the fetus’s health	Strongly disagree	28	6.33
		Disagree	128	28.96
		Neutrality	210	47.51
		Agree	67	15.16
		Strongly agree	9	2.04
AT3	Women without cancer or infertility should be allowed to use eOC in China	Strongly disagree	13	2.94
		Disagree	35	7.92
		Neutrality	130	29.41
		Agree	207	46.83
		Strongly agree	57	12.90
AT4	Unmarried women should be allowed to use eOC	Strongly disagree	19	4.30
		Disagree	52	11.76
		Neutrality	124	28.05
		Agree	189	42.76
		Strongly agree	58	13.12
AT5	The government needs to make a policy for the use of eOC for reproductive purposes	Strongly disagree	21	4.75
		Disagree	52	11.76
		Neutrality	160	36.20
		Agree	168	38.01
		Strongly agree	41	9.28
AT6	It is a violation of women’s rights not to allow eOC in China	Strongly disagree	20	4.52
		Disagree	106	23.98
		Neutrality	197	44.57
		Agree	88	19.91
		Strongly agree	31	7.01
AT7	For males only: I accept that my partner uses eOC	Strongly disagree	16	3.62
		Disagree	37	8.37
		Neutrality	70	15.84
		Agree	56	12.67
		Strongly agree	4	0.90

Abbreviation: eOC, elective oocyte cryopreservation.

Table 4 Women Fertility Desire Using Elective OC

Items	Variables	Answer	Number	Percentage (%)
FD1	Do you have a desire to use eOC for reproduction? (Only women)	No	391	88.46
		Yes	51	11.54
FD2	I have a desire to use eOC because of no partners	No	29	6.56
		Yes	22	4.98
FD3	I have a desire to use eOC because of unstable relationships	No	44	9.95
		Yes	7	1.58
FD4	I have a desire to use eOC because of my job	No	33	7.47
		Yes	18	4.07
FD5	I have a desire to use eOC because of an unstable financial status	No	33	7.47
		Yes	18	4.07

Abbreviation: eOC, elective oocyte cryopreservation.

Table 5 Distribution of Attitude Stratified by Awareness Whether Ever Heard of Elective OC

	Items	Answer	Whether Ever Heard of eOC		p-value
			Yes	No
AT1	eOC is bad for women’s health	Strongly disagree	28 (11.48%)	1 (6.57%)	< 0.01
		Disagree	94 (38.52%)	49 (24.75%)
		Neutrality	89 (36.48%)	106 (53.54%)
		Agree	28 (11.48%)	27 (13.64%)
		Strongly agree	5 (2.04%)	3 (1.52%)
AT2	eOC is bad for the fetus’s health	Strongly disagree	20 (8.20%)	8 (4.04%)	< 0.01
		Disagree	93 (38.11%)	35 (17.68%)
		Neutrality	101 (41.39%)	109 (55.04%)
		Agree	29 (11.89%)	38 (19.20%)
		Strongly agree	1 (0.41%)	8 (4.04%)
AT3	Women without cancer or infertility should be allowed to use eOC in China	Strongly disagree	5 (2.05%)	8 (4.04%)	< 0.01
		Disagree	15 (6.15%)	20 (10.10%)
		Neutrality	52 (21.31%)	78 (39.40%)
		Agree	130 (53.28%)	77 (38.90%)
		Strongly agree	42 (17.21%)	15 (7.58%)
AT4	Unmarried women should be allowed to use eOC	Strongly disagree	5 (2.05%)	14 (7.10%)	< 0.01
		Disagree	21 (8.61%)	31 (15.66%)
		Neutrality	54 (22.13%)	70 (35.35%)
		Agree	122 (50.00%)	67 (33.84%)
		Strongly agree	42 (17.21%)	16 (8.08%)
AT5	The government needs to make a policy for the use of eOC for reproductive purposes	Strongly disagree	7 (28.69%)	14 (7.07%)	< 0.01
		Disagree	28 (11.48%)	24 (12.12%)
		Neutrality	68 (27.87%)	92 (46.46%)
		Agree	110 (45.08%)	58 (29.29%)
		Strongly agree	31 (12.70%)	10 (5.05%)
AT6	It is a violation of women’s rights not to allow eOC in China	Strongly disagree	11 (4.51%)	9 (4.54%)	< 0.01
		Disagree	64 (26.23%)	42 (21.21%)
		Neutrality	91 (37.26%)	106 (53.53%)
		Agree	56 (22.95%)	32 (16.16%)
		Strongly agree	22 (9.05%)	9 (4.56%)

Abbreviation: eOC, elective oocyte cryopreservation.

Table 6 Multinomial Regression for Factors Associated with Awareness of Elective OC

Variables	Model 1 (All)		Model 2 (Male)		Model 3 (Female)
	aRRR	95% CI	aRRR	95% CI	aRRR	95% CI
“I heard of it but didn’t understand” vs “I haven’t heard of it”
Gender: Male	0.47	(0.2,1.06)	–	–	–	–
Education: Bachelor	1.47	(0.54,4.03)	2.59	(0.81,8.28)	1.78	(0.54,5.9)
Education: Master and above	2.1	(0.4,10.88)	6.55*	(1.26,33.98)	7.52	(0.7,80.57)
You are one child in your family: Yes	1.77	(0.63,4.96)	2.29	(0.86,6.11)	3.45	(0.83,14.27)
Region: Good	1	(0.38,2.65)	1.09	(0.38,3.09)	1.1	(0.36,3.33)
Age group: 35–45	2.7	(0.74,9.82)	1.4	(0.42,4.71)	7.34*	(1.58,34)
Age group: > 45	6.81**	(1.8,25.72)	3.83*	(1.12,13.11)	3.94*	(1.02,15.2)
Marital status: Married	0.25*	(0.07,0.88)	0.52	(0.16,1.76)	0.38	(0.11,1.39)
Marital status: Unmarried but living with a partner	0.15	(0.02,1.2)	0	(0,0)	1.46	(0.13,15.95)
AW: Family/friends/media/common sense	71.21***	(21.33, 237.73)	–	–	–	–
AW: Medical personnel engaged in assisted reproductive technology	3	(0.16,55.05)	–	–	–	–
AW: School/university/research papers	13.92**	(2.36,81.94)	–	–	–	–
“I heard of it and understood” vs “I haven’t heard of it”
Gender: Male	0.29**	(0.12, 0.7)	–	–	–	–
Education: Bachelor	1.44**	(0.48, 4.29)	3.99*	(1.33, 11.98)	1.72	(0.57,5.19)
Education: Master and above	2.79	(0.51,15.15)	12.24**	(2.61, 57.49)	12.8*	(1.31, 124.73)
You are one child in your family: Yes	2.73	(0.93,8.01)	3.21*	(1.25,8.27)	6.29**	(1.62, 24.41)
Region: Good	1.19	(0.43,3.32)	1.51)	(0.57,4.02	1.24	(0.44,3.52)
Age group: 35–45	2.08	(0.55,7.97)	2.94	(0.85,10.13)	3.44	(0.8,14.8)
Age group: > 45	9.91**	(2.49,39.46)	12.03***	(3.37, 43)	3.36	(0.98,11.52)
Marital status: Married	0.25**	(0.07,0.95)	0.24*	(0.07, 0.82)	0.53	(0.16,1.75)
Marital status: Unmarried but living with a partner	0.03**	(0,0.3)	0.37	(0.05,2.68)	0.19	(0.01,2.69)
AW: Family/friends/media/common sense	540.94***	(132.89, 2201.98)	–	–	–	–
AW: Medical personnel engaged in assisted reproductive technology	144.57***	(13.96, 1496.76)	–	–	–	–
AW: School/university/research papers	299.14***	(47.18, 1896.65)	–	–	–	–

Notes: AW, answers to “How have you heard of eOC?”, Significance codes: 0 “***” 0.001 “**” 0.01 “*” 0.05. The italicized text – Outcome variable compared with reference value. The bold values - statistically significant difference. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001. “-”. – Not relevant (OR) Could not be included in the model because of small sample size.

Abbreviation: aRRR, adjusted relative risk ratio.

Data Sharing Statement

The raw data supporting the conclusions of this article will be made available by the first authors, without undue reservation.