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

Abstract

Objectives. Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is one of the most common endocrine disorders, affecting upto 10% of reproductive-age women. Anti-Mullerian hormone (AMH) is a member of the transforming growthfactor β family and has an inhibitory effect on primordial follicle recruitment in the ovary. The study aimed toinvestigate the importance of serum AMH levels in the different phenotypes of PCOS and find the optimalcut-off level of AMH in PCOS patients. Methods. This was a prospective clinical trial in which diagnoses of50 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 comparedto 50 normo-ovulatory cases. Results. When compared with the control group, the AMH levels of the PCOSgroup 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 thoseof the control group (p < 0.001). The AMH cut-off value of 4.1 ng/ml was found to distinguish healthy womenfrom PCOS patients, with 84% sensitivity and 80% specificity. Conclusions. Subgroup analyses showed higherlevels of AMH in the severe PCOS group, but the difference was not statistically significant. More studies aresuggested for researching the different PCOS subgroups to detect optimal AMH thresholds