Cord blood anti-Mullerian hormone levels are higher in female newborns from women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) when compared to non-PCOS controls, irrespective of body mass index; a prospective case-control study

Objective: To compare cord-blood anti-Mullerian hormone levels between female newborns from women with and without polycystic ovary syndrome. Methods: A prospective case-control study was conducted in Ankara University School of Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology between June 2020 and January 2021. In total, 408 women gave birth to a female during the study period. Of those, 45 had a polycystic ovary syndrome-like history. We did not find the preconceptional history of 16 women. Two women were excluded due to other endocrine disorders. The polycystic ovary syndrome group consisted of 27 women with polycystic ovary syndrome that gave birth to a female newborn during the study period and the non-polycystic ovary syndrome control group consisted of 33 women who had regular cycles prior to pregnancy, were never diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome, and gave birth to female newborns. The primary outcome measure was the cord-blood anti-Mullerian hormone levels. Results: The median cord-blood anti-Mullerian hormone levels of female newborns from polycystic ovary syndrome patients were significantly higher than those in the non-polycystic ovary syndrome group (0.33ng/ml vs. 0.12ng/ml, respectively; p<0.001). In addition, cord blood anti-Mullerian hormone levels were significantly higher in both obese and non-obese polycystic ovary syndrome patients when compared to body-mass-index-matched non- polycystic ovary syndrome patients (0.37ng/ml vs. 0.06ng/ml, respectively; p=0.013 and 0.30ng/ml vs. 0.11 ng/ml, respectively; p=0.003). Conclusions: The cord blood anti-Mullerian hormone levels were higher in female newborns of women with polycystic ovary syndrome when compared to non-polycystic ovary syndrome controls. The effect of polycystic ovary syndrome seems to be greater than body mass index on cord blood anti-Mullerian hormone levels.