Published in:
01-05-2016 | Assisted Reproduction Technologies
IVF results in patients with very low serum AMH are significantly affected by chronological age
Published in: Journal of Assisted Reproduction and Genetics | Issue 5/2016
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Purpose
The aims of this study were to assess the outcome of in vitro fertilization (IVF) in women with very low circulating anti-müllerian hormone (AMH) and to investigate factors affecting their probability of pregnancy.
Methods
The outcome of 448 IVF cycles in 361 women with circulating AMH <0.5 ng/ml was retrospectively analyzed.
Results
Cycle cancellation rate was 14.5 %; patients whose cycle was cancelled had significantly lower AMH than women who reached oocyte pickup (OPU). Among those who reached OPU, age significantly affected the success rate: despite comparable AMH levels, patients below 35 years obtained significantly more oocytes and a better clinical pregnancy rate (CPR)/OPU than patients aged 35–39 or 40–43 (31 % vs. 23.2 % vs. 10.2 %, respectively; p = 0.001). Differently, comparable IVF results were observed stratifying patients for AMH levels in the range 0.14–0.49 ng/ml. Multivariable logistic regression analysis confirmed that the probability of pregnancy was significantly affected by age, but not by small differences in AMH level.
Conclusions
Women with very low (<0.5 ng/ml) AMH levels undergoing IVF still have reasonable chances of achieving a pregnancy, but their prognosis is significantly affected by chronological age. Very low AMH levels are associated with a relevant risk of cycle cancellation but should not be considered a reason to exclude a couple from IVF.