Ovarian reserve in patients with ankylosing spondylitis

Purpose The aim of this study was to determine the autoimmune effects of ankylosing spondylitis (AS) on the fertility potential of women by evaluating ovarian reserves of AS patients.

A total of 104 patients, 52 in the AS group (study group) and 52 in the control group were included in the study. Ovarian reserve was evaluated by serum anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) levels, antral follicle count (AFC) and baseline serum follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) levels.

The mean serum AMH levels were significantly lower in the study group when compared to the controls (2.203 ± 1.110 vs. 1.188 ± 0.891, p < 0.001). In addition, the mean AFC was also significantly lower in the study group. (10.67 ± 1.81 vs. 9.54 ± 2.50, p = 0.009). Mean FSH levels were calculated to be 6.72 ± 1.14 in the study group and 7.21 ± 1.22 in the control group. The difference was not statistically significant (p = 0.781).

This study shows that AS like several other autoimmune conditions has an adverse effect on the female fertility potential. Therefore, an early start and long-term management of AS patients who have fertility desire is recommended. Serum AMH levels can be used in monitoring ovarian reserve and in early detection of reproductive decline of AS patients. ClinicalTrial Number NCT04209881. Similar content being viewed by others

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Nat Rev Endocrinol 10(1):37 Yun BH, Kim G, Park SH, Noe EB, Seo SK, Cho S, Lee BS (2017) In vitro fertilization outcome in women with diminished ovarian reserve. Obstet Gynecol Sci 60(1):46–52 Funding This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors. Author information Authors and Affiliations Contributions PYB: study designation and manuscript writing; PK: manuscript writing and statistical analysis; BY: data interpretation; EÜÖ: laboratory analysis; KÇ: statistical analysis; NFTS: critically revised the article and supervised the study. Corresponding author Ethics declarations Conflict of interest The authors have no conflict of interest to declare. Ethics approval The Institutional Review Board of Health Science University Istanbul Sadi Konuk Training and Research Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey approved this study (IRB Approval Number: 2019/456,). Informed consent Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study. Additional information Publisher's Note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Rights and permissions About this article Cite this article Yalçın Bahat, P., Kadiroğulları, P., Topbas Selcuki, N.F. et al. Ovarian reserve in patients with ankylosing spondylitis. Arch Gynecol Obstet 303, 189–193 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00404-020-05824-8 Received: Accepted: Published: Version of record: Issue date: DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00404-020-05824-8