Ovarian reserve: correlation between antral follicle count and follicle-stimulating hormones, anti-Müllerian and estradiol

Objective: To determine the correlation between follicle count in the early follicular phase and serum levels of follicle-stimulating hormone, anti-Müllerian hormone and estradiol in patients diagnosed with infertility at the Fertility Service of the Concepción Palacios Maternity Hospital between January and December 2022. Methods: Retrospective, descriptive, correlational study. A total of 148 women with infertility were included. Antral follicle counts were determined, and hormones were correlated with each other and with age and type of infertility. Results: Based on the antral follicle count, ovarian reserve was high in 48.6%, normal in 31.8%, and low in 19.6% of the sample. Among patients with a low follicle count, 45.8% had elevated follicle-stimulating hormone levels. Meanwhile, 67.9% of those with a normal count and 55.2% of those with an elevated count had follicle-stimulating hormone levels between 3 and 10 mIU/mL (p = 0.039). Estradiol levels greater than 75 pg/mL were associated with a low count in 40.9% of cases and a high count in 50% (p = 0.039). All patients with a low antral follicle count had anti-Mülerian hormone levels below 1 ng/mL; those with a normal count had levels between 1 and 3 ng/mL, and those with a high count had levels exceeding 1 ng/mL (p < 0.001). Both antral follicle count and follicle-stimulating hormone levels were significantly associated with age (p < 0.001 and p = 0.016, respectively), but not with the type of infertility. Conclusions: The best indicators for ovarian reserve are antral follicle count and anti-Müllerian hormone.