Table 3.
Withdrawal reasons by timing of study protocol, LIFE Study, 2005–09
| Timing & reason | Michigan n (%) | Texas n (%) | Total n (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Before or upon recruitment | 93 (100) | 581 (100) | 674 (100) |
| No longer interested | 25 (27) | 155 (27) | 180 (27) |
| Cannot contact/schedule couple | 21 (23) | 112 (19) | 133 (20) |
| Self-reported pregnancy | 14 (15) | 62 (11) | 76 (11) |
| Change in pregnancy intentions | 17 (18) | 43 (7) | 60 (9) |
| Othera | – | 57 (10) | 57 (8) |
| Moved/will be moving | 3 (3) | 44 (8) | 47 (7) |
| Off birth control >2 months | – | 38 (7) | 38 (6) |
| Refused biospecimens | 5 (5) | 29 (5) | 34 (5) |
| Too busy | 3 (3) | 16 (3) | 19 (3) |
| Wishes to pursue infertility treatment | – | 17 (3) | 17 (3) |
| No longer with partner | 3 (3) | 2 (<1) | 5 (<1) |
| Health reasons | 2 (2) | 3 (<1) | 5 (<1) |
| Unknown | – | 3 (<1) | 3 (<1) |
| Withdrew before pregnancy (reason) | 24 (100) | 90 (100) | 114 (100) |
| Non-compliant/insufficient journals returned | 12 (50) | 41 (46) | 53 (46) |
| No longer interested | 6 (25) | 17 (19) | 23 (20) |
| Pursuing infertility treatment | 2 (8) | 10 (11) | 12 (11) |
| No longer with partner | 3 (13) | 6 (7) | 9 (8) |
| Family illness/health reasons | – | 4 (4) | 4 (4) |
| Male partner found to have azoospermia | – | 5 (6) | 5 (4) |
| Otherb | – | 4 (4) | 4 (4) |
| Changes in pregnancy intention | 1 (4) | 1 (1) | 2 (2) |
| Moved | – | 2 (2) | 2 (2) |
| Does not wish to give biospecimens | – | – | – |
| Withdrew after pregnancy (reason) | 8 (100) | 32 (100) | 40 (100) |
| Non-compliant/insufficient journals returned | 3 (38) | 17 (53) | 20 (50) |
| No longer wishes/eligible after pregnancy loss | 5 (63) | 14 (44) | 19 (48) |
| Family illness/health reason | – | 1 (3) | 1 (3) |
Recruitment denotes willingness to schedule baseline interview among couples screened eligible.
a
Stated reasons included decided to postpone trying, study requires too much, and found to be ineligible.
b
Stated reasons included no longer wishes to use monitor, entering menopause and disruption from hurricanes.