Ovarian Reserve and Planned Cryopreservation Outcomes in Physicians and Nonphysicians

The rates of infertility among physicians are nearly twice that of the general population; therefore, we sought to determine whether physicians undergoing planned fertility preservation have similar ovarian reserve markers and number of oocytes retrieved compared with nonphysicians. We performed a retrospective cohort study comparing female physicians and nonphysicians 18-45 years of age who completed planned oocyte or embryo cryopreservation at three geographically spaced academic institutions. We excluded patients with known ovarian insufficiency disorders, undergoing oocyte or embryo cryopreservation before cancer treatment or prior gonadotoxic therapy, BRCA1 and BRCA2 carriers, those with exogenous androgens exposure, and those had a prior oophorectomy. There were 50 physicians and 241 nonphysicians who underwent planned oocyte or embryo cryopreservation. Physicians were significantly younger than nonphysicians at the time of retrieval (average age 33.6 years vs 34.9 years, P=.01). After adjustment for age and race, physicians had significantly lower anti-müllerian hormone levels (average difference -0.38 [95% CI, -0.55 to -0.22]), but the median number of mature oocytes retrieved did not differ significantly. Therefore, planned oocyte or embryo cryopreservation among physicians could be considered for future family building.