CUMULATIVE PREVALENCE RATES AND CORRECTED INCIDENCE RATES OF SURGICAL STERILIZATION AMONG WOMEN IN THE UNITED STATES, 1971–19781

Abstract

The authors used data from the 1970 National Fertility Survey and Centers tor Disease Control surveillance of surgical sterilizations to estimate the cumulative prevalences of hysterectomy and tubal sterilization among women of reproductive age in the United States between 1971 and 1978. In 1978, the cumulative prevalence rate of tubal sterilization was more than twice as high for women aged 15–44 years as it was in 1971 and at least three times as high for women under 30. Although the increase in the cumulative prevalence rate of hysterectomy was not as marked, by 1978, 19% of women aged 40–44 had undergone hysterectomy. The authors used the cumulative prevalence rate to estimate the population at risk for surgical sterilization, and calculated the corrected incidence rates for these procedures. While corrected incidence rates of tubal sterilization among women aged 15–44 doubled between 1971 and 1978, corrected hysterectomy rates remained stable. The largest age-specific increase in incidence rates of tubal sterilization was among women 40–44, with rates six times higher in 1978 than in 1971. These findings can be used to recompute incidence rates of endometrial and cervical cancers, abortions, and ectopic pregnancies, allowing more precise analysis of related trends.