Prenatal exposures and anti-müllerian hormone in female adolescents: the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children

Abstract

Given that the primordial ovarian follicular pool is established in utero, it may be influenced by parental characteristics and the intrauterine environment. Anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) levels are increasingly recognized as a biomarker of ovarian reserve in females in adulthood and adolescence. We examined and compared associations of maternal and paternal prenatal exposures with AMH levels in adolescent (mean age, 15.4 years) female offspring (n = 1,399) using data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children, a United Kingdom birth cohort study that originated in 1991 and is still ongoing (data are from 1991-2008). The median AMH level was 3.67 ng/mL (interquartile range: 2.46-5.57). Paternal but not maternal smoking prior to and during pregnancy were inversely associated with AMH levels. No or irregular maternal menstrual cycles before pregnancy were associated with higher AMH levels in daughter during adolescence. High maternal gestational weight gain (top fifth versus the rest of the distribution) was associated with lower AMH levels in daughters. Parental age, body mass index, and alcohol intake during pregnancy, child's birth weight, and maternal parity and time to conception were not associated with daughters' AMH levels. Our results suggest that some parental preconceptual characteristics and environmental exposures while the child is in utero may influence the long-term ovarian development and function in female offspring.