Objective
To determine whether there is an association between obesity and Anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) amongst reproductive-aged African-American women (AAW).
Methods
1,654 AAW aged 23–35 who participated in an ongoing NIEHS study were included. Anthropometric measurements, personal health information, and serum AMH and adipokine levels were analyzed.
Results
The median body mass index (BMI) was 32.4 kg/m2 and the median AMH was 3.18 ng/mL. Participants with obesity had AMH concentrations that were 23.7% lower than those with a BMI ≤ 25 kg/m2 (2.9 ng/mL versus 3.8 ng/mL). In multivariable linear regression models, current BMI (β=−0.015; 95% CI −0.021, −0.009), BMI at age 18 (β=−0.016; 95% CI −0.024, −0.008), heaviest reported lifetime weight (β=−0.002; 95% CI −0.003, −0.001) and leptin (β=−0.016; 95% CI −0.025, −0.007) were inversely associated with AMH. There was no significant association between adiponectin and AMH. AMH was significantly lower (mean log=0.91, SE=0.11) in participants with obesity at age 18 and at enrollment when compared to those who were underweight or normal weight at age 18 but had obesity at enrollment (mean log=1.16, SE=0.12).
Conclusions
In reproductive-aged AAW there is a significant association between obesity and AMH, suggesting that excess adiposity may compromise ovarian reserve. Effects of obesity on AMH may be cumulative.