Background: A surgical lifestyle may challenge the balance between professional responsibilities and personal life. We sought to define the impact of being a surgeon on the likelihood of parenthood. Study Design: The American Community Survey (ACS) database was queried between 2018-2022 to investigate trends of parenthood among surgeons, non-surgeon physicians and the general US population. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were conducted to identify factors associated with parenthood. Results: Among 3, 385 surgeons and 52, 758 non-surgeon physicians, 50. 6% versus 46. 0% were parents, respectively (RR: 1. 10, 95%CI: 1. 06-1. 14). The US general population had a markedly lower prevalence of parenthood (RR: 0. 58, 95%CI: 0. 57-0. 58). Surgeons were more likely to be married (83. 3% vs. 78. 2% vs. 42. 7%) and had higher annual income versus physicians and the US population (390, 000 130, 000-512, 000 vs. 200, 200 86, 200-400, 000 and 36, 100 11, 600-96, 000, respectively; (p<0. 05). On multivariable analysis, surgeons had 12% higher odds of having children versus non-surgeon physicians (OR: 1. 12, 95%CI: 1. 02-1. 23). Among surgeons, being married (OR: 11. 69 95%CI: 5. 41-17. 29) and higher income (per 10, 000 increase; OR: 1. 02 95%CI: 1. 01-1. 03) were associated with higher odds of parenthood while female sex (OR: 0. 71 95%CI: 0. 58-0. 79) was associated with lower odds. Female surgeons earned a lower annual income (288, 800 84, 000-486, 000 vs. 406, 000 148, 000-525, 000), worked more hours per week (57. 0 hours 20. 8 vs. 50. 2 hours 23. 9), and were less often married (67. 7% vs. 86. 7%) versus male surgeons (p<0. 05). Conclusions: Surgeons had a higher likelihood of parenthood versus non-surgeon physicians and the general US population. The odds of being a parent varied based on sex, marital status, and annual income. Female surgeons were less likely to be a parent while working longer hours and earning a lower annual income.
Altaf et al. (2026) studied this question.