Serum prolactin and gonadotropin levels in women with infertility in Bangladesh

Abstract

Background and objectives: Infertility is a global health problem including Bangladesh. Altered prolactin, follicle (FSH) and luteinizing hormones (LH) levels have been implicated as a cause of infertility. The present study was undertaken to find out the serum prolactin and gonadotropin levels in women with primary and secondary infertility.Methods: The study involved a total of 100 women of which 50 had primary (Group A) and another 50 had secondary (Group B) infertility. Fifty fertile age-matched women were included as control (Group C). All the study participants were selected from women attending the infertility unit of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU), Dhaka. Serum prolactin, FSH and LH hormones were measured by radioimmunoassay with blood collected on the 2nd day of menstrual cycle.Results: The mean serum prolactin level was significantly higher (<p0.01) while the mean serum FSH and LH levels were significantly(p< 0.01) lower in women with primary and secondary infertility compared to fertile women. However, the mean serum prolactin, FSH and LH levels were not significantly different from each other among the women with primary and secondary sterility. High prolactinemia was observed in 16% and 14% women in Group A and B respectively. Compared to women with secondary sterility, significantly (p<0.05%) higher number of cases with primary sterility (30% vs. 54%) had FSH level below the normal range. On the other hand, 28% cases with secondary sterility had LH level below the normal range compared to 10% in primary sterility group (p<0.05).Conclusion: The study has demonstrated that there was alteration of serum prolactin, FSH and LH levels in women with primary and secondary sterilityIMC J Med Sci 2018; 12(1): 1-5