Association of Anti-Mullerian Hormone with C-Reactive Protein in Men

Abstract

While serum anti-mullerian hormone (AMH) levels are inversely associated with all-cause mortality in men, the underlying mechanisms are unclear. Elevated levels of inflammation, also associated with allcause mortality, and may be the link between AMH and mortality. Hence, we examined the association of AMH with serum c-reactive protein (CRP), a biomarker of inflammation, in men. We included men ≥20 years from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (1999-2004). We used survey weight-adjusted linear regression to examine the association between AMH and cRp without and with adjustment for age, race, body mass index (BMi), smoking, hypertension, diabetes, cholesterol, glomerular filtration rate (GFR), testosterone, androstenedione, and sex hormone binding globulin. Of the 949 men, 212 (22%) were elderly, 493 (52%) Caucasian, 254 (27%) current smokers, 100 (10%) diabetics, and 312 (33%) had hypertension. Mean (SD) AMH was 8.4 (7.2) ng/mL and median (IQR) CRP level was 0.17 (3) mg/L. Using linear regression, each 10 ng/mL rise in AMH was associated with 0.09 mg/ dL (95%CI = −0.14 to −0.03; p = 0.002) decrease before and 0.08 mg/dL (95%CI = −0.13 to −0.02; p = 0.004) decrease in CRP after adjusting for potential confounders. Similarly, men in the highest quartile of AMH had significantly lower CRP compared to those in the lowest quartile (unadjusted difference = −0.19 mg/dL; 95%CI = −0.31 to −0.06; p = 0.006, adjusted difference = −0.16 mg/dL; 95%CI = −0.3 to −0.01; p = 0.035). We found an independent, robust, and inverse association between CRP and AMH in men. Effect of AMH on mortality may be through amelioration of inflammation. Anti-mullerian hormone (AMH), is a glycoprotein belonging to the transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β) superfamily. It is highly expressed in male fetal testis where it is responsible for regression of the mullerian duct. AMH remains elevated until puberty in men and rapidly declines during transition to the adulthood 1,2. While the role of the persistence of AMH during adulthood is unclear, the presence of AMH-specific receptor (AMHRII) in several organs (such as adrenal gland, liver, lung, skeletal muscle, and spleen) suggests that AMH may play a role during adult life beyond the development of reproductive system 3. In fact, epidemiological studies have demonstrated that serum AMH levels were inversely associated with cardiovascular events in elderly male, with infra-renal aortic diameter, and with all-cause mortality in men 4-6. However, the mechanisms underlying of these associations are not known. Growing body of evidence suggests that inflammation plays a critical role in the initiation and progression of atherosclerosis, chronic pulmonary disease (including COPD), and malignancy 7-9. Several studies have reported that serum c-reactive protein (CRP), an inflammatory biomarker, has the ability to predict cardiovascular disease, lung disease, cancer, and all-cause mortality risk in general population 10,11. In one study, serum AMH levels were negatively associated with in...

Occupational Health Aspects with Special Focus on Physiological Differences between Office and Metalworkers

“…The decrease in serum anti-Mullerian hormone with age corresponds to other reports [47,48], prevalently in sedentary subjects as office workers because AMH levels are significantly higher in exercised subjects [49]. Moreover, an inverse correlation exists between AMH and CRP in men [50], which is associated with increased mortality [51]. Total testosterone in metalworkers and free testosterone in both groups were indirectly related to age, which is coincident with a report of Kanabar et al [52] indicating a steep decline around the age of 30 to 40 years.…”

Anti-Müllerian Hormone Levels as a Predictor of Female General Health Status: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…Hence, significant strenghts of our study are the relatively large homogenous population included and availability of several fertility-related hormones tested throughout the fertility work-up of every woman, among which only AMH emerged as a significant predictor of female general health. Thus, our findings are in line with recent evidence suggesting AMH to be related with systemic conditions and all-cause mortality in men 24,25 and deserve thorough consideration.…”

Anti‐Müllerian hormone concentration is associated with central adiposity and reproductive hormones in expectant fathers

“…8,9 AMH in men is associated with specific cardiometabolic risk factors 10 with higher AMH associated with lower all-cause mortality 11 and with lower C-reactive protein. 12 Low AMH has been associated with increased body mass index (BMI) and obesity, [13][14][15] and there are complex relationships between AMH and the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis with AMH also increasing gonadotrophin-releasing hormone (GnRH) neuron activity. 5 Male reproductive capacity reflects gonadal and metabolic health, 16 and the role of AMH within these interrelationships remains unclear.…”