Table 3.
Opinions on upper BMI restrictions for fertility treatment
| Overall | Maternal–fetal medicine | Reproductive endocrinology and infertility | p value* | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| N (%) | N (%) | N (%) | ||
| There should be a BMI above which patients should not be offered fertility treatment. | 410/593 (69.1) |
266/390 (68.2) |
142/196 (72.5) |
0.29 |
| There should be an upper limit BMI cutoff for IVF. |
402/410 (98.0) |
261/266 (98.1) |
138/142 (97.2) |
0.74 |
| If yes, what is your proposed BMI cutoff? | ||||
| Mean (SD) | 40.1 (5.7) | 40.1 (6.1) | 40.0 (4.8) | 0.77 |
| 25–29 | 3 (0.8) | 2 (0.8) | 1 (0.8) | 0.17 |
| 30–34 | 32 (8.3) | 25 (9.9) | 7 (5.2) | |
| 35–39 | 84 (21.7) | 50 (19.8) | 33 (24.6) | |
| 40–44 | 184 (47.4) | 119 (47.2) | 65 (48.5) | |
| 45–49 | 38 (9.8) | 21 (8.3) | 17 (12.7) | |
| 50+ | 47 (12.1) | 35 (13.9) | 11 (8.2) | |
| No response | 16 | 11 | 5 | |
| There should be an upper limit BMI cutoff for injectable medications. | 368/410 (89.8) |
252/266 (94.7) |
113/142 (79.6) |
< 0.001 |
| If yes, what is your proposed BMI cutoff? | ||||
| Mean (SD) | 40.2 (5.9) | 40.1 (6.1) | 40.5 (5.5) | 0.54 |
| 25–29 | 3 (0.8) | 2 (0.8) | 1 (0.9) | 0.51 |
| 30–34 | 31 (8.7) | 24 (9.8) | 7 (6.3) | |
| 35–39 | 77 (21.6) | 49 (20.1) | 27 (24.3) | |
| 40–44 | 162 (45.4) | 116 (47.5) | 46 (41.4) | |
| 45–49 | 33 (9.2) | 19 (7.8) | 14 (12.6) | |
| 50+ | 51 (14.3) | 34 (13.9) | 16 (14.4) | |
| No response | 14 | 10 | 4 | |
| There should be an upper limit BMI cutoff for oral medications. | 327/410 (79.8) |
233/266 (87.6) |
91/142 (64.1) |
< 0.001 |
| If yes, what is your proposed BMI cutoff? | ||||
| Mean (SD) | 40.0 (6.0) | 40.1 (6.2) | 40.0 (5.6) | 0.85 |
| 25–29 | 3 (1.0) | 2 (0.9) | 1 (1.2) | 0.95 |
| 30–34 | 30 (9.5) | 23 (10.1) | 7 (8.1) | |
| 35–39 | 70 (22.2) | 47 (20.7) | 22 (25.6) | |
| 40–44 | 142 (45.1) | 105 (46.3) | 37 (43.0) | |
| 45–49 | 24 (7.6) | 17 (7.5) | 7 (8.1) | |
| 50+ | 46 (14.6) | 33 (14.5) | 12 (14.0) | |
| No response | 15 | 9 | 6 | |
| Which organization should establish BMI cutoffs for fertility treatment, if an official statement were to be issued? | ||||
| American Society for Reproductive Medicine | 337 (82.2) | 216 (81.2) | 121 (85.2) | 0.31 |
| Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine | 178 (43.4) | 128 (48.1) | 49 (34.5) | 0.008 |
| American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists | 239 (58.3) | 164 (61.7) | 73 (51.4) | 0.046 |
| Other | 5 (1.2) | 0 (0) | 5 (3.5) | 0.005 |
| No statement should be made | 3 (0.7) | 0 (0) | 3 (2.1) | 0.04 |
*p values were computed using a chi-square test or Fisher’s exact test (when > 20% of cells had expected counts < 5 and at least one cell had expected count < 1) for categorical comparisons and t test allowing for unequal variances for comparisons of means