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. 2023 Aug 3;12(15):5099.
doi: 10.3390/jcm12155099.

Investigation of the Prevalence of Diminished Ovarian Reserve in Korean Women of Reproductive Age

Rihwa Choi  1   2 , Wonseo Park  3 , Gayoung Chun  3 , Sang Gon Lee  1 , Eun Hee Lee  4
Affiliations

Investigation of the Prevalence of Diminished Ovarian Reserve in Korean Women of Reproductive Age

Rihwa Choi et al. J Clin Med. .

Abstract

Diminished ovarian reserve can be assessed biochemically using serum anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) tests. This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of diminished ovarian reserve in a large population of reproductive-aged women by age and geographic region in Korea using different cutoffs of serum AMH and FSH levels. In 2022, 13,351 women underwent both AMH and FSH tests. The prevalence of diminished ovarian reserve increased markedly with age. Although cutoffs for AMH and FSH levels are different in USA and Korean guidelines, the overall prevalence of diminished ovarian reserve was comparable. The maximum prevalence was 3.8%, 6.0%, 11.0%, 28.6%, 69.3%, and 95.0% in women aged 20-24, 25-29, 30-34, 35-39, 40-44, and 45-49 years, respectively. The overall prevalence and age-adjusted prevalence of diminished ovarian reserve were 37.2% and 38.4%, respectively. Women who had only increased serum FSH without decreased AMH represented 1.1% (by Korean guidelines) and 2.5% (by USA guidelines) of all women. Serum AMH and FSH tests were underutilized on Jeju Island. The results of this study provide basic knowledge about diminished ovarian reserve for use in infertility support programs and the field of maternal aging.

Keywords: Korea; aging; anti-Müllerian hormone; infertility; ovarian reserve; public health.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Serum AMH and FSH levels with increasing age.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Prevalence of diminished ovarian reserve by age group and criteria. ACOG means criteria for defining diminished ovarian reserve used by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM, serum AMH < 1.0 ng/mL or serum FSH > 10.0 mIU/mL). Korean means criteria used by the Korean guidelines for the infertility support program (serum AMH ≤ 1.0 ng/mL or serum FSH ≥ 12.0 mIU/mL) to define diminished ovarian reserve. Lighter colors represent results according to the ACOG and ASRM criteria, and darker colors represent results as defined by the Korean guidelines for an infertility support program.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Number and prevalence of cases of diminished ovarian reserve as defined by the Korean guidelines for the infertility support program (serum AMH ≤ 1.0 ng/mL or serum FSH ≥ 12.0 mIU/mL) by geographic region. (a) Number of women living in Korea [20]. (b) Number of women tested for serum AMH and FSH through laboratory information system. (c) Proportions of women tested for serum AMH and FSH by geographic region. (d) Age-adjusted prevalence of diminished ovarian reserve by geographic region.
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