Circulating antimüllerian hormone and steroid hormone levels remain high in pregnant women with polycystic ovary syndrome at term
Publication date: Available online 7 January 2019
Source: Fertility and Sterility
Author(s): Terhi T. Piltonen, Paolo Giacobini, Åsa Edvinsson, Steinar Hustad, Susanne Lager, Laure Morin-Papunen, Juha S. Tapanainen, Inger Sundström-Poromaa, Riikka K. Arffman
Objective
To investigate plasma antimüllerian hormone (AMH) concentration and its relation to steroid hormone levels in pregnant women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and controls at term.
Design
Case–control study.
Setting
University-affiliated hospital.
Patient(s)
A total of 74 pregnant women at term: 25 women with PCOS (aged 31.6 ± 3.9 years [mean ± standard deviation], body mass index 24.0 ± 3.9 kg/m2, mean gestational length 279 ± 9 days) and 49 controls (aged 31.7 ± 3.3 years, body mass index 24.0 ± 3.3 kg/m2, mean gestational length 281 ± 9 days).
Intervention(s)
None.
Main Outcome Measure(s)
Plasma AMH and steroid hormone levels.
Result(s)
Antimüllerian hormone, T, and androstenedione levels were higher in women with PCOS at term compared with controls, whereas estrogen and P levels were similar. The differences were pronounced in women carrying a female fetus. Testosterone and AMH levels correlated positively in both groups, but E2 levels only in women with PCOS.
Conclusion(s)
Pregnant women with PCOS present with elevated AMH and androgen levels even at term, suggesting a hormonal imbalance during PCOS pregnancy. Differences were detected especially in pregnancies with a female fetus, raising the question of whether female pregnancies are more susceptible to AMH and steroid hormone actions.
Publisher URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0015028218322234
DOI: S0015028218322234
Keeping up-to-date with research can feel impossible, with papers being published faster than you'll ever be able to read them. That's where Researcher comes in: we're simplifying discovery and making important discussions happen. With over 19,000 sources, including peer-reviewed journals, preprints, blogs, universities, podcasts and Live events across 10 research areas, you'll never miss what's important to you. It's like social media, but better. Oh, and we should mention - it's free.
Researcher displays publicly available abstracts and doesn’t host any full article content. If the content is open access, we will direct clicks from the abstracts to the publisher website and display the PDF copy on our platform. Clicks to view the full text will be directed to the publisher website, where only users with subscriptions or access through their institution are able to view the full article.