The relation between serum anti-Mullerian hormone levels and follicle count in polycystic ovary syndrome

Year 2018, Volume: 4 Issue: 1, 32 - 37, 04.01.2018

Nefise Tanrıdan Okcu , Hakan Nazik , Ayşe Topcu Akduman , Gürkan Uncu

https://doi.org/10.18621/eurj.332118

Abstract

Objective. Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is one of the most
common endocrine disorders, affecting up to 10% of reproductive-age women. Anti-Mullerian
hormone (AMH) is a member of the transforming growth factor β family and has an
inhibitory effect on primordial follicle recruitment in the ovary. The study
aimed to investigate the importance of serum AMH levels in the different
phenotypes of PCOS and find the optimal cut-off level of AMH in PCOS
patients. Methods. This was a
prospective clinical trial in which diagnoses of 50 PCOS patients based on
Rotterdam revised criteria were compared to 50 normo-ovulatory cases. Additionally,
the PCOS group was divided into 2 subgroups based on 2 or 3 Rotterdam criteria
and compared to 50 normo-ovulatory cases. Results. When compared with the control group, the AMH levels
of the PCOS group were significantly higher than those of the control group (6.81
± 2.8 ng/ml vs. 3.22 ± 2.2 ng/ml, p
< 0.001). In the subgroup analysis, the AMH levels of Group 1 and Group 2
were significantly higher than those of the control group (p < 0.001). The AMH cut-off value of 4.1 ng/ml was found to
distinguish healthy women from PCOS patients, with 84% sensitivity and 80%
specificity. Conclusions. Subgroup
analyses showed higher levels of AMH in the severe PCOS group, but the
difference was not statistically significant. More studies are suggested for
researching the different PCOS subgroups to detect optimal AMH thresholds.

Keywords

anti-Mullerian hormone, ovarian follicles, polycystic ovary syndrome, ultrasonography

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