title: Assessment of anti-Müllerian hormone levels in premenopausal patients with systemic lupus erythematosus.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The ovarian reserve of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) may be affected by disease activity and medication use. Studies have found that patients with SLE have similar fertility rates as healthy women of the same age. The goal of the present study was to investigate the ovarian reserve of patients with SLE by measuring anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) levels, and compare it to that of healthy controls.
  
  
  METHODS
  This was a case-control study performed on 80 premenopausal women, of whom 40 fulfilled the 1997 American College of Rheumatology (ACR) criteria for SLE and 40 healthy controls paired by oral contraceptive use. Serum concentrations of AMH in peripheral venous blood were measured using a human AMH ELISA kit (CUSABIO, Wuhan, China).
  
  
  RESULTS
  AMH serum levels did not differ between patients with SLE and controls (22.79 ± 17.32 ng/ml versus 21.41 ± 16.22 ng/ml, respectively, p = 0.7), even after adjusting for age (21.03 ± 2.074 ng/ml versus 23.97 ± 2.71 ng/ml; p = 0.5). AHM levels were not significantly correlated with disease duration (r = 0.2; p = 0.3), body mass index (r = 0.2; p = 0.2) and disease activity (SLEDAI (r = 0.1; p = 0.7)) and damage indices (SLICC (r = 0.1; p = 0.7)). No associations were found between AMH and ethnicity, current smoking, as well as current or prior use of cyclophosphamide and other immunosuppressants.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In this cross-sectional study, women with SLE demonstrated similar AMH levels as healthy controls, suggesting preserved ovarian reserve in this population.
authors.affiliation: Division of Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil andresegasparin@gmail.com.
authors.forename: A A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Gasparin
authors.affiliation: Division of Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Souza
authors.affiliation: Molecular and Protein Analysis Unit, Experimental Research Center, Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Siebert
authors.affiliation: Division of Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
authors.forename: R M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Xavier
authors.affiliation: Division of Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
authors.forename: R M S
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Chakr
authors.affiliation: Division of Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
authors.forename: P E
authors.initials: PE
authors.lastname: Palominos
authors.affiliation: Division of Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
authors.forename: J C T
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Brenol
authors.affiliation: Division of Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
authors.forename: O A
authors.initials: OA
authors.lastname: Monticielo
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D054304:Anti-Mullerian Hormone / Q000097:blood*; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008180:Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology; D065851:Ovarian Reserve; D017697:Premenopause / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D054304:Anti-Mullerian Hormone
keywords: Anti-Müllerian hormone; ovarian reserve; systemic lupus erythematosus