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Sociodemographic differences in utilization of fertility services among reproductive age women diagnosed with cancer in the USA

  • Fertility Preservation
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Journal of Assisted Reproduction and Genetics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

To determine whether sociodemographic differences exist among female patients accessing fertility services post-cancer diagnosis in a representative sample of the United States population.

Methods

All women ages 15–45 with a history of cancer who responded to the National Survey for Family Growth (NSFG) from 2011 to 2017 were included. The population was then stratified into 2 groups, defined as those who did and did not seek infertility services. The demographic characteristics of age, legal marital status, education, race, religion, insurance status, access to healthcare, and self-perceived health were compared between the two groups. The primary outcome measure was the utilization of fertility services. The complex sample analysis using the provided sample weights required by the NSFG survey design was used.

Results

Five hundred forty-five women reported a history of cancer and were included in this study. Forty-three (7.89%) pursued fertility services after their cancer diagnosis. Using the NSFG sample weights, this equates to a population of 161,500.7 female cancer survivors in the USA who did utilize fertility services and 1,811,955.3 women who did not. Using multivariable analysis, household income, marital status, and race were significantly associated with women utilizing fertility services following a cancer diagnosis.

Conclusions

In this nationally representative cohort of reproductive age women diagnosed with cancer, there are marital, socioeconomic, and racial differences between those who utilized fertility services and those who did not. This difference did not appear to be due to insurance coverage, access to healthcare, or perceived health status.

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Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge the patients who completed the National Survey of Family Growth.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. NYU Grossman School of Medicine, NY, New York, USA

    Paxton Voigt & Sameer Thakker

  2. NYU Langone Department of Urology, New York, NY, USA

    Jesse Persily & Bobby Najari

  3. NYU Langone Fertility Clinic, New York, NY, USA

    Jennifer K. Blakemore & Frederick Licciardi

Authors
  1. Paxton Voigt
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  2. Jesse Persily
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  4. Frederick Licciardi
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Correspondence to Paxton Voigt.

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Voigt, P., Persily, J., Blakemore, J.K. et al. Sociodemographic differences in utilization of fertility services among reproductive age women diagnosed with cancer in the USA. J Assist Reprod Genet 39, 963–972 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10815-022-02455-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10815-022-02455-7

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