Anti-Müllerian hormone as a predictor of reproductive potential.
Level 5 - mechanism / opinion, no new human data
Narrative review synthesizing cohort studies and secondary trial analyses
PubMed 30299431 · doi:10.1097/MED.0000000000000440
What was done
This review evaluated published evidence on whether anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH), a marker of ovarian reserve, predicts natural reproductive potential and fecundability. The authors summarized findings from prospective time-to-pregnancy studies and secondary analyses of trials, including the NICHD EAGeR trial.
What was found
An initial small prospective study (n = 98) linked AMH < 0.7 ng/ml to reduced day-specific conception probability, but a larger follow-up cohort found no association between AMH and fecundability; 12-cycle pregnancy rates were similar between women with AMH < 0.7 ng/ml and those with normal levels after adjusting for age. Four additional studies, including an analysis of over 1,200 women from the EAGeR trial, confirmed that AMH levels do not correlate with natural fertility.
Why it matters
Despite commercial marketing of AMH testing as a routine fertility check, current clinical evidence indicates that ovarian reserve markers do not predict unassisted conception in the general population.
Limits
The abstract describes a narrative review rather than a systematic review or meta-analysis. Detailed numerical effect sizes, confidence intervals, and full population characteristics across all evaluated studies were not reported in the abstract.
Cited by
- context Anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) blood testing measures ovarian egg count/reserve.