Age-specific nomograms for follicle stimulatinghormone and anti-Mullerian hormone: A pilot study inIle-Ife, Nigeria

Background: Assessment of ovarian reserve is one of the steps in the managementof infertile couples. Follicle Stimulating hormone (FSH) and anti-Müllerianhormone (AMH) are commonly used ovarian reserve markers in Africa. However,there is paucity of age-specific reference values for FSH and AMH among theAfrican population.Objective: This study aimed at conducting a pilot study for generation of agespecific nomograms for FSH and AMH among fertile women in Ile-Ife, Nigeria.Materials and Methods: A pilot cross-sectional study that involved 65 fertilewomen within the age range of 18-45 yr were prospectively and consecutivelyrecruited from November 2014 to January 2015. Peripheral blood samples weretaken for basal serum FSH and random serum AMH. The samples were processedusing enzyme linked immunosorbent (ELISA) assays.Results: Age-specific FSH nomogram showed a gradual increase which becamesteeper at age 35 yr with an average yearly increase of 0.2 IU/L in basal serum FSH,while age-specific AMH nomogram showed a peak at 25 yr and then; an averageyearly decrease of 0.11 ng/ml in random serum AMH from 25 yr.Conclusion: The age-specific nomograms generated by this pilot study suggest thatAMH may be an earlier marker of reduced ovarian reserve; which if validated byfuture multicenter population based studies may facilitate counseling of women ontheir reproductive potentials.

کلیدواژه ها:

Ovarian reserve ، Follicle stimulating hormone ، Anti-Müllerian hormone ، Nomogram ، Reference values