Early Life Body Fatness, Serum Anti-Müllerian Hormone, and Breast Density in Young Adult Women

BACKGROUND: Emerging evidence suggests positive associations between serum antimüllerian hormone (AMH), a marker of ovarian function, and breast cancer risk. Body size at young ages may influence AMH levels, but few studies have examined this. Also, no studies have examined the relation of AMH levels with breast density, a strong predictor of breast cancer risk. METHODS: We examined associations of early life body fatness, AMH concentrations, and breast density among 172 women in the Dietary Intervention Study in Children (DISC). Height and weight were measured at baseline (ages 8–10) and throughout adolescence. Serum AMH concentrations and breast density were assessed at ages 25–29 at the DISC06 Follow-Up visit. We used linear mixed effects models to quantify associations of AMH (dependent variable) with quartiles of age-specific youth body mass index (BMI) Z-scores (independent variable). We assessed cross-sectional associations of breast density (dependent variable) with AMH concentration (independent variable). RESULTS: Neither early life BMI nor current adult BMI was associated with AMH concentrations. There were no associations between AMH and percent or absolute dense breast volume. In contrast, women with higher AMH concentrations had significantly lower absolute non-dense breast volume (p-trend <0.01). CONCLUSIONS: We found no evidence that current or early life BMI influences AMH concentrations in later life. Women with higher concentrations of AMH had similar percent and absolute dense breast volume, but lower non-dense volume. IMPACT: These results suggest that AMH may be associated with lower absolute non-dense breast volume; however, future prospective studies are needed to establish temporality

Bariatric Surgery Reduces Serum Anti-mullerian Hormone Levels in Obese Women With and Without Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome.

Obesity in fertile women has negative effect on fertility. Anti-mullerian hormone (AMH)represents a good index of fertility, and it is considered a marker of ovarian reserve and of polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) gravity. Previous studies evaluated the relationship between obesity and AMH with contradictory results. The aim of the study was to investigate the relationship between obesity and AMH and the changes of AMH in obese women in reproductive age submitted to bariatric surgery. Fifty-five obese patients between 18 and 39 years with (29 patients) and without PCOS (26 patients) were compared with a control group of normal weight women with (24 patients) and without PCOS (19 patients). Fourteen obese women with PCOS and 18 without PCOS underwent to bariatric surgery. Serum AMH, testosterone, androstenedione, and DHEAS were performed in all patients before and 1 year after surgical intervention. AMH was significantly higher in the PCOS groups (p &lt; 0.001), both in obese (5.84 ± 3.94 ng/ml) and non-obese women (7.35 ± 4.39 ng/ml). AMH was positively related to testosterone (p &lt; 0.0001), androstenedione (p = 0.0005), and DHEAS(p=0.003).After bariatric surgery, AMH levels were reduced in the both PCOS (p = 0.02) and non-PCOS group (p = 0.04). AMH levels are elevated in PCOS patients regardless of the body weight. Bariatric surgery is effective in the normalization of AMH levels (a possible indirect marker of better fertility) only in obese patients with PCOS