Objectives: To assess the prevalence of diminished ovarian reserve (DOR) in patients with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) in China, and to search for sensitive diagnostic parameters.
Methods: Three hundred and thirty eight PCOS women aged 20-39 years were recruited. Basic characteristics, follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH), estradiol (E2), testosterone and anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) were measured. The best indices to diagnose PCOS with DOR were assessed.
Results: The prevalence of DOR in our Chinese PCOS patients was 16.9%. The level of E2 and FSH and the FSH/LH ratio had a positive correlation with PCOS and DOR (OR > 1, p < 0.05) independent of age and testosterone, while AMH and baseline antral follicle count had a negative correlation (OR < 1, p < 0.05). AMH was a good parameter to diagnose PCOS with DOR, the cutoff was 2.53 ng/ml, with sensitivity 92.5%, specificity 73.7% and area under curve 0.932. AMH had a significant positive correlation with LH (r = 0.016, p < 0.05) and testosterone (r = 0.209, p < 0.01), while had significant negative correlation with age (r=-0.140, p < 0.05), FSH (r=-0.229, p < 0.01) and FSH/LH ratio (r=-0.240, p < 0.01).
Conclusions: In our study, AMH was a sensitive parameter to diagnose PCOS with DOR, but to improve the accuracy it will still need further studies.
Keywords: Aging; anti-Müllerian hormone; diminished ovarian reserve; polycystic ovary syndrome; sex hormones.