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Early-life factors and adult anti-Müllerian hormone levels

  • Reproductive Physiology and Disease
  • Published:
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Abstract

Aim

This study aims to examine whether early-life factors are associated with adult ovarian reserve, measured by anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) levels.

Methods

The work is based on the Jerusalem Perinatal Study (JPS), an extensive birth cohort with detailed information on all pregnancies and deliveries in Jerusalem between 1974 and 1976. A subset of individuals participated in a follow-up study that took place between 2007 and 2009 in which they completed questionnaires and were physically examined at mean age of 32. A blood sample was additionally drawn from each participant, and AMH was measured in a sample of 239 women. The associations between each early-life factors, including birth weight, maternal pre-pregnancy weight, gestational weight gain (GWG), socioeconomic position at birth, and parental smoking during pregnancy, were assessed with AMH levels at the age of 32.Multivariable regression models were used to examine the associations with AMH, adjusting for potential confounders at birth and at the age of 32.

Results

Low birth weight was significantly associated with lower ovarian reserve reflected by lower levels of AMH at age 32 (range 30–36), independent of other early-life factors and after adjusting for confounders (β = 0.180, p = 0.03).

Conclusions

This prospective study demonstrates the association of birth weight and adult ovarian reserve. Underlying mechanisms are yet to be fully understood.

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Funding

The National Institutes of Health [grant R01HL088884]; the Israeli Science Foundation [grant numbers 1252/07, 552/12]; and the Joint Research fund between the Hebrew University Faculty of Medicine and Hadassah Medical Hospital.

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Author notes

  1. Dior Uri Pinchas and Karavani Gilad contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Hadassah Ein-Kerem Medical Center and Faculty of Medicine, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel, Jerusalem, Israel

    Uri Pinchas Dior & Gilad Karavani

  2. Department of Internal Medicine, Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Tel Aviv, Israel

    Valerie Soloveichick

  3. Braun School of Public Health, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel, Jerusalem, Israel

    Yechiel Friedlander & Hagit Hochner

Authors
  1. Uri Pinchas Dior
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  2. Gilad Karavani
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  3. Valerie Soloveichick
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  4. Yechiel Friedlander
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  5. Hagit Hochner
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Supervision of the study design and methodology was performed by Uri P Dior, Yechiel Friedlander, and Hagit Hochner. Material preparation, data collection, and analysis were performed by Uri P Dior, Hagit Hochner, Gilad Karavani, and Valerie Soloveichick. Original draft preparation and review and editing were performed by Gilad Karavani, Uri P Dior, Hagit Hochner, and Yechiel Friedlander. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Gilad Karavani.

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Dior, U.P., Karavani, G., Soloveichick, V. et al. Early-life factors and adult anti-Müllerian hormone levels. J Assist Reprod Genet 38, 3019–3025 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10815-021-02281-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10815-021-02281-3

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