Medically reviewed by Dr. Kimberly Langdon Cull, M.D. on July 25, 2023
Serum levels of anti-Mullerian hormone play an independent role in predicting incident early-onset vasomotor symptoms in premenopausal women.
Vasomotor symptoms are cardinal symptoms associated with menopause that negatively influence the quality of life of menopausal women. Early-onset vasomotor symptoms reflect the hormonal fluctuations occurring during the menopausal transition. The levels of anti-Mullerian hormone (AMH) can predict the final menstruation period with a better predictive value compared to follicle-stimulating hormone.
This longitudinal study published in the journal Scientific Reports investigated the relationship between the risk of incident early-onset vasomotor symptoms and levels of AMH in premenopausal women.
Study Population Characteristics
The study included 2,041 premenopausal women, with a mean age of 44.74 ± 2.38 years. The median level of AMH in the study participants was 0.69 ng/mL.
Anti-Mullerian Hormone Levels and Incident Vasomotor Symptoms
A total of 708 premenopausal women developed incident vasomotor symptoms before menopause during the follow-up period. The findings revealed that a decrease in the incidence of vasomotor symptoms was accompanied by an increase in AMH levels, representing an inverse association between AMH levels and incident vasomotor symptoms.
Impact of AMH Levels on Vasomotor Symptoms in Younger Women
In women below the median age, the multivariable-adjusted hazard ratio (HR) for incident VMS comparing the lowest AMH quintile to the highest quintile was 2.60 (1.82–3.72). This indicates that younger women with lower AMH levels had a 2.6 times higher risk of experiencing moderate to severe VMS than those with higher AMH levels.
Association Between AMH Levels and Incident VMS in Older Women
In older women, the HR for incident VMS comparing the lowest AMH quintile to the highest quintile was 2.30 (1.54–3.45). Older women with lower AMH levels had a 2.3 times higher risk of developing moderate to severe VMS compared to their counterparts with higher AMH levels.
Impact of Weight Categories
The study also examined the impact of weight categories on the association between AMH levels and VMS. The results showed that overweight status did not significantly modify the association. Both non-overweight women and overweight women exhibited similar trends, with lower AMH levels associated with a higher risk of experiencing VMS.
Study Limitations
The levels of AMH were only measured at baseline, and the changes in these levels were not taken into account during the follow-up period. Furthermore, this study did not acquire data pertaining to other reproductive hormones.
Source
Namgoung, S., Chang, Y., Kim, Y., Kim, H., Cho, I. S., Kwon, R., Lim, G. Y., Choi, H. J., Kang, J., Kim, K., Hong, Y., Zhao, D., Park, D. H., Cho, J., Guallar, E., Kwon, M. S., & Ryu, S. (2022). Low anti-Müllerian hormone levels are associated with an increased risk of incident early-onset vasomotor symptoms among premenopausal women. Scientific Reports, 12(1). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-16182-7
