RESUMO
A prospective longitudinal cohort study aimed to longitudinally examine the kinetics of Anti-müllerian hormone (AMH) during the first two trimesters of pregnancy. Pregnant women with stored 1st trimester serum samples were recruited at 24-28 weeks gestation during their gestational diabetes testing, where they provided an additional serum sample. The samples were analysed for AMH, oestradiol and progesterone concentrations. A decrease in serum AMH was observed in 40 out of 45 (88.9%) (95% CI 75.9% to 96.3%) of the participants in this study. The median serum AMH concentration was 10.9 pmol/L in the 1st trimester and 6.5 pmol/L during the 2nd trimester, with a significantly different distribution of the values between the 1st and the 2nd trimester AMH samples (p<0.001). The median percentage of AMH difference of -39.8%. This study demonstrated a significant decrease in serum AMH levels from the 1st to the 2nd trimester of pregnancy. The absolute decrease in AMH levels seems to be positively associated with 1st trimester AMH levels, whereas the percentage of AMH difference is not. Further studies are required to elucidate the potential physiological mechanisms of this finding.
RESUMO
The aim of this systematic review is to critically appraise the available evidence regarding the kinetics of anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) during pregnancy and post-partum. A systematic literature search was conducted in MEDLINE, Embase, CENTRAL, Scopus and Web of Science on 14 December 2015, aiming to identify studies providing data on the serum concentration of AMH in women at various stages of gestation and post-partum. There was a total of 1719 participants across eight studies. Seven out of the eight studies reported a decline in serum AMH concentration with advancing gestational age. Further, all four of the studies that evaluated pre- and post-delivery AMH concentrations found that it increased in the post-partum period. This review demonstrated an association between reduced maternal serum AMH concentrations and advancing gestational age, with a subsequent post-partum increase in concentration. These findings suggest that AMH measurements in pregnant women, especially at later stages of pregnancy, should not be used to assess ovarian reserve. Additionally, further longitudinal research would be beneficial, to elucidate the pathophysiological mechanism through which this decline in serum AMH concentration is observed during pregnancy.
