Human Reproduction, Vol. 17, No. 3, 641-646,
March 2002
© 2002 European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology
Follicle stimulating hormone measured in unextracted urine throughout the menstrual cycle correlates with age and ovarian reserve
1 Departments of Obstetrics and Gynaecology and 2 Clinical Chemistry, Medisch Spectrum Twente Hospital, Enschede and 3 Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Free University Medical Centre, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
BACKGROUND: A method was previously described to measure FSH reliably in unextracted urine. The aim of the current study was to establish the course of FSH measured in urine throughout the cycle. METHOD: Daily urinary FSH (uFSH) concentrations were determined in 14 regularly menstruating volunteers aged 23–39 years during one complete menstrual cycle. RESULTS: In each subject, mean daily uFSH measured in urine, as gold standard for FSH tone, correlated significantly with FSH in early follicular phase fixed to menstruation on cycle day 3 (r = 0.75, P = 0.002), or fixed to ovulation 9 days before the pre-ovulatory FSH surge (r = 0.87, P = 0.0001), or when selected as being the highest follicular phase value (r = 0.91, P = 0.0001). Age correlated significantly with mean daily uFSH (r = 0.67, P = 0.009), highest follicular phase uFSH (r = 0.60, P = 0.024), uFSH on cycle day 3 (r = 0.80, P = 0.0006), and uFSH 9 days before FSH surge (r = 0.65, P = 0.0016). The uFSH was also measured on cycle day 3 in 104 IVF patients in a cycle prior to pituitary down-regulation. The uFSH correlated significantly with numbers of follicles (P = 0.02) and oocytes (P = 0.024). CONCLUSION: It is concluded that cycle day 3 uFSH is a good reflection of the mean uFSH of the complete cycle, and there is a highly significant correlation between uFSH and age and ovarian reserve. Measurement of FSH in urine on cycle day 3 seems to be a reliable and non-invasive tool for determining ovarian reserve in IVF.
Key words: age/assay/FSH/ovarian reserve/urine
4 To whom correspondence should be addressed at: VU Medical Centre, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, PO Box 7057, 1007 MB Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Email: juroosterhuis{at}hotmail.com
Submitted on October 30, 2000, resubmitted on 2 May, 2001
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