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Ovarian reserve in women with a previous history of severe pre-eclampsia

  • Gynecologic Endocrinology and Reproductive Medicine
  • Published:
Archives of Gynecology and Obstetrics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

Severe pre-eclampsia affects maternal health with long-term consequences. It is postulated that during the process of implantation and cell differentiation, embryos resulting from the fertilization of ageing oocytes produce malfunctioning trophoectoderm leading to placental dysfunction. Therefore, severe pre-eclampsia may be associated with a decreased ovarian reserve. The objective of this study was to compare serum markers of ovarian reserve and function between women who had severe pre-eclampsia and those who had normal pregnancies.

Methods

Twenty women who had severe pre-eclampsia (PE) and 20 who had uncomplicated pregnancies (controls) matched for age and body mass index were included in the study. Fasting blood samples were taken during the follicular phase (day 5) of the menstrual cycle 6 months to 5 years after the delivery. Serum was separated and frozen at −70 °C until analyzed for anti-Mϋllerian hormone (AMH), total and free testosterone (TT), free-androgen index (FAI), luteinizing hormone (LH), and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) hormone to evaluate ovarian reserve and function, and the results were compared between two groups.

Results

The median AMH was 0.91 ng/mL in PE group compared to 0.72 ng/mL in controls (p = 0.995). No significant differences were found between the two groups in the levels of LH (5.65 vs. 5.4 IU/L, respectively, p = 0.897) and FSH (4.95 vs. 5.1 IU/L, respectively, p = 0.523). However, total and free-TT levels as well as FAI were significantly lower in the PE group compared to controls (p = 0.017, p = 0.006, and p = 0.011, respectively).

Conclusions

Ovarian reserve and function are not altered significantly in women with a previous history of pre-eclampsia compared with women who had an uncomplicated pregnancy.

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Acknowledgments

This study was partly funded by the Regional Health Authority of Northern Norway.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Homerton Fertility Centre, Homerton University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, London, E9 6SR, UK

    Priya Bhide

  2. Women’s Health and Perinatology Research Group, Department of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Tromsø, Tromsø, Norway

    Åse Vårtun, Berit Aune, Kari Flo, Purusotam Basnet & Ganesh Acharya

  3. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University Hospital of North Norway, Tromsø, Norway

    Berit Aune, Kari Flo, Purusotam Basnet & Ganesh Acharya

Authors
  1. Priya Bhide
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  2. Åse Vårtun
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  3. Berit Aune
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  4. Kari Flo
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  5. Purusotam Basnet
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  6. Ganesh Acharya
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Priya Bhide.

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Conflict of interest

P. Bhide declares that she has no conflict of interest. A. Vartun declares that she has no conflict of interest. B. Aune declares that she has no conflict of interest. K. Flo declares that she has no conflict of interest. P. Basnet declares that he has no conflict of interest. G. Acharya declares that he has no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

This article does not contain any studies with animals performed by any of the authors. All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Informed consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Bhide, P., Vårtun, Å., Aune, B. et al. Ovarian reserve in women with a previous history of severe pre-eclampsia. Arch Gynecol Obstet 295, 233–238 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00404-016-4193-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00404-016-4193-8

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