Anti-mullerian hormone predicts menopause: a long-term follow-up study in normoovulatory women

It has been hypothesized that a fixed interval exists between age at natural sterility and age at menopause. Both events show considerable individual variability, with a range of 20 yr. Correct prediction of age at menopause could open avenues of individualized prevention of age-related infertility and other menopause-related conditions, like cardiovascular disease and breast carcinoma.

The aim of this study was to explore the ability of ovarian reserve tests to predict age at menopause.

We conducted a long-term follow-up study at an academic hospital.

A total of 257 normoovulatory women (age, 21-46 yr) were derived from three cohorts with highly comparable selection criteria.

Anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH), antral follicle count, and FSH were assessed at time 1 (T1). At time 2 (T2), approximately 11 yr later, cycle status (strictly regular, menopausal transition, or postmenopause) and age at menopause were inventoried.

Accuracy of the ovarian reserve tests in predicting time to menopause was assessed by Cox regression, and a nomogram was constructed for the relationship between age-specific AMH concentrations at T1 and age at menopause.

A total of 48 (19%) women had reached postmenopause at T2. Age, AMH, and antral follicle count at T1 were significantly related with time to menopause (P < 0.001) and showed a good percentage of correct predictions (C-statistic, 0.87, 0.86, and 0.84, respectively). After adjusting for age, only AMH added to this prediction (C-statistic, 0.90). From the constructed nomogram, it appeared that the normal distribution of age at menopause will shift considerably, depending on the individual age-specific AMH level.

AMH is highly predictive for timing of menopause. Using age and AMH, the age range in which menopause will subsequently occur can be individually calculated.