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Hum. Reprod. Advance Access originally published online on May 19, 2005
Human Reproduction 2005 20(9):2448-2452; doi:10.1093/humrep/dei076
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© The Author 2005. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions{at}oupjournals.org

Age-specific FSH levels as a tool for appropriate patient counselling in assisted reproduction

Andrea Weghofer1,3, Markus Margreiter1, Yvonne Fauster2, Theresa Schaetz2, Agnes Brandstetter2, Doris Boehm2 and Wilfried Feichtinger1

1 Wunschbabyzentrum-Institute for Sterility Treatment, A-1130 Vienna and 2 Medical University Vienna, A-1090 Vienna, Austria

3 To whom correspondence should be addressed. Email: aweghofer{at}gmx.at

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to assess whether, even within a normal FSH range (≤10 mU/ml), age-specific FSH levels are predictive of ovarian reserve. METHODS: Between January 1998 and December 2001, 535 women, undergoing controlled ovarian stimulation with 225 IU of recombinant (rec) FSH and 75 IU of recLH, were included in this retrospective cohort study. Criteria for enrolment were: age 25–40 years, basal FSH (b-FSH) ≤10 mU/ml and basal LH ≤12 mU/ml. Patients were assigned to three age groups (group I: 25–29 years; group II: 30–35 years; and group III: 36–40 years). Each age group was divided into quartiles according to b-FSH levels, comparing the lowest and highest b-FSH quartiles for basal hormonal patterns and outcome-related parameters. RESULTS: At ages 25–35 years, women in the lowest FSH quartiles demonstrated significantly increased numbers of oocytes at retrieval (group I: low b-FSH quartile 8.4±3.7 versus high b-FSH quartile 6.4±2.7, P < 0.02; group II: 7.5±4.0 versus 6.3±3.0, P < 0.047), whereas no difference with regard to oocyte yield was observed in patients above age 35 (group III: low b-FSH quartile 5.5±3.1 versus high b-FSH quartile 5.6±3.5). No statistical correlation was found between FSH quartiles and clinical pregnancy rates or miscarriage. CONCLUSIONS: In young women, age-specific high b-FSH levels, even within normal ranges, are associated with significantly reduced numbers of oocytes retrieved. B-FSH concentrations should, therefore, be interpreted in an age-specific manner to allow for appropriate patient counselling in IVF.

Key words: age/FSH/IVF/ovarian reserve/poor responder


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 Obstet GynecolHome page
D. H. Barad, A. Weghofer, and N. Gleicher
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[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


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