The State of Research on Fertility for LGBTQ+ people: A scoping review

Article type
Authors
Glujovsky D1, Quaglia J2, Di Biase F2, Miguens M2, Pesce R3, Herrero B4, Ciapponi A5
1Cegyr (Eugin group), Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina; Argentine Cochrane Centre-Institute for Clinical Effectiveness and Health Policy (IECS), Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
2Cegyr (Eugin group), Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
3Hospital Italiano de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
4Belen
5Argentine Cochrane Centre-Institute for Clinical Effectiveness and Health Policy (IECS), Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Abstract
Background: The LGBTQ+ community has made significant progress in recent years in terms of visibility and awareness. This scoping review aimed to map the available research evidence on reproductive medicine related to the LGBTQ+ community.

Methods: A literature search was performed in PubMed. Articles that reported on topics regarding LGBTQ+ and fertility, published from 2013 to 2022 were included. We charted data on study characteristics and specific topics, named fertility preservation, assisted reproductive technologies, family planning, mental health, legal issues, and ethical aspects.

Results: We included 268 studies out of 1532 records retrieved. A discernible uptrend in publications addressing fertility issues within the LGBTQ+ community was evidenced over the past decade, being half of these studies published within the last three years. The main topics varied according to the specific LGBTQ+ subgroup analyzed, although family planning was a common topic among all the groups.

Conclusions: This study highlights the extent of the LGBTQ+ community inclusion in fertility care research studies and suggests the importance of prioritizing the involvement of patients and public partners to improve representativity and to produce relevant and impactful studies.