Data Trends 2023: Infertility

Publish date: October 3, 2023

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Recent data show that some groups of female active-duty service members are at a higher risk for infertility than others, namely non-Hispanic Black patients, those working in health care occupations, pilots, and aircrew.⁴ While some data suggest that female infertility in the active-duty population has been decreasing, evidence continues to link occupational exposures to infertility in female veterans.⁵ One potential reason for this is inconsistent definitions of “infertility” between studies. The CDC recommends treating infertility with medicine, surgery, or assisted reproductive technology (ART); the DoD and VHA offer certain counseling and treatment services for infertility, when medically necessary, but current coverage of ART services is limited.^6-8

References

US Department of Veteran Affairs. Facts and statistics: women veterans in focus. Updated January 31, 2023. Accessed May 5, 2023. https://www.womenshealth.va.gov/materials-and-resources/facts-and-statistics.asp
US Department of Defense. Department of Defense Releases Annual Demographics Report — Upward Trend in Number of Women Serving Continues. Published December 14, 2022. Accessed June 12, 2023. https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/3246268/department-of-defense-releases-annual-demographics-report-upwardtrend-in-numbe/
Meadows SO, Collins RL, Schuler MS, Beckman RL, Cefalu M. The Women’s Reproductive Health Survey (WRHS) of active-duty service members. RAND Corporation. Published 2022. Accessed May 5, 2023. https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA1031-1.html
Congressional Research Service Report. Infertility in the military. Updated May 26, 2021. Accessed May 5, 2023. https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/IF/IF11504
Mancuso AC et al. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2022;227(5):744.e1-744.e12. doi:10.1016/j.ajog.2022.07.002
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Infertility FAQs. Accessed May 5, 2023. https://www.cdc.gov/reproductivehealth/infertility/
Kroll-Desrosiers A et al. J Gen Intern Med. 2023;1-7. Online ahead of print. doi:10.1007/s11606-023-08080-z
US Department of Veterans Affairs. Infertility and IVF. Accessed May 5, 2023. https://www.womenshealth.va.gov/topics/infertility-and-ivf.asp

Data Trends 2023: Infertility

References

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