Effect of long-term using of hormonal contraception on anti-Müllerian hormone secretion

Anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) is an important factor associated with female fertility and the ovarian reserve. There are several past studies available concerning the influence of hormonal contraception (HC) on serum AMH levels. Recent studies have reported that AMH levels in women using HC can be about 30% lower compared to those not using HC. However, earlier studies showed no reduction in AMH levels in HC users. We decided to evaluate the effects of long-term HC use (mean duration of HC use: 11.4 years) on AMH levels in women. To exclude potential shorter and reversible decreasing effects of HC on fertility function, we decided to include women in the study who had stopped using HC 1 year before the AMH sample collection. We examined 105 women who used HC and 44 women who had never used HC. The median concentration of AMH in the group of long-term users of HC was 2.89 and 3.37 ng/ml in the group of women who had never used HC. We found no statistically significant difference (p = 0.3261). In conclusion, we observed no negative impact of HC on the AMH serum levels. AMH can be used as an ovarian reserve marker for these women.