Impact of age and menopausal stage on serum anti-Müllerian hormone levels in middle-aged women

Abstract

Objective This study aimed to evaluate the association between age, menopausal stage and serum anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) levels in middle-aged women. Methods In this cross-sectional study, the serum AMH levels of 288 healthy women aged 40–55 years (divided into age groups: 40–44, 45–49 and 50–55 years) were evaluated. Stages of Reproductive Aging Workshop + 10 criteria were used to categorize these women into menopausal stages: late reproductive, menopausal transition and early postmenopausal stages. The impact of age, menopausal stage and hormone replacement therapy on serum AMH levels was analyzed using multi-factor analysis of variance. Effects of body mass index, smoking status and oral contraceptive use were simultaneously considered. Results The median AMH level was 0.140 ng/ml. Log-AMH levels varied according to age group (variance = 20.113, F = 88.538, p < 0.001) and menopausal stage (variance = 5.543, F = 24.501, p < 0.001). An exponential model defined as AMH = 227,421.757 × e(−0.301 × age) was fit to describe the decline in AMH level with age. The 5th–95th percentiles of the AMH levels ranged from less than 0.020 to 3.150, less than 0.020 to 1.944 and less than 0.020 to 0.030 ng/ml in the aforementioned menopausal stages, respectively. Conclusion Age and menopausal stage were associated with AMH levels; age had a greater impact on AMH than menopausal stage in middle-aged women.