Infertility burden among women firefighters: a cross-sectional exploratory analysis

Despite biological and environmental plausibility, risk factors for infertility have not yet been studied among female firefighters. In this exploratory analysis, we investigated the burden of infertility among a subset of US firefighters enrolled in the Health and Wellness of Women Firefighters Study.

Women firefighters enrolled in the study responded to surveys administered in 2017 and 2019, reporting on their work environment, reproductive health, infertility history and fertility treatment history among those with infertility. Demographics and reproductive history of firefighters were compared by reported history of infertility. Log binomial regression models were used to estimate the association between occupational factors and risk of infertility.

Of the 562 firefighters in our analysis, 168 of these women (30%) reported a history of infertility. A longer length of employment as a firefighter was associated with a modest, but non-statistically significant, increased relative risk of experiencing infertility (1.39, 95% CI 0.86 to 2.24).

This exploratory analysis highlights an opportunity to further examine infertility and impaired fertility among firefighters. Future studies may focus on comparing the burden of infertility in firefighters to the general population and evaluating the influence of additional occupational factors.