Women with a high concentration of anti-M-llerian hormone stand a better chance of giving birth after in vitro fertilization, according to a recent study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM).
Anti-M-llerian hormone (AMH) is produced by the ovaries. The study found women with high AMH levels were 2.5 times more likely to have a successful IVF cycle than women of a similar age with low levels of the hormone. AMH levels were a predictor of pregnancy and live birth, even when the mother's age and egg production were taken into account.
Although a growing body of research has pinpointed AMH levels as an indicator of the number of eggs remaining in a woman's ovaries, this study is the first to demonstrate AMH levels are directly connected to birth and pregnancy rates, regardless of the number of eggs retrieved.
"For women who are struggling to get pregnant, a high AMH level should be very reassuring," said Thomas Brodin, MD, of Uppsala University in Sweden and lead author of the study. "High levels of this hormone mean there is a greater chance they have plenty of healthy eggs remaining to support a pregnancy."
Researchers concluded high AMH levels are associated with successful IVF treatment because the hormone levels reveal important information about the quality as well as the quantity of eggs left in a woman's ovaries. Women who have high AMH levels are likely to have a high proportion of eggs capable of developing into healthy embryos, Brodin said.
The prospective cohort study tracked 892 women who underwent IVF treatment at the Carl von Linn- Clinic in Uppsala between 2008 and 2011. The participants underwent a total of 1,230 IVF cycles. AMH levels in the participants' blood were measured prior to treatment.