Perceived stress, psychological distress and serum anti-Müllerian hormone levels among infertile and fertile women in North-central Nigeria

Abstract Background Previous studies reported that self-reported stress, stressful life events, and psychological distress influence ovarian ageing and response. However, there are limited, yet conflicting findings on the effect of stress and psychological distress on serum anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) as a biomarker of ovarian reserve, response, and ageing. This case-control study aimed to determine if stress and psychological distress levels were associated with serum anti-Müllerian hormone levels among 81 infertile and 109 fertile women of reproductive age attending the gynaecology and immunization clinics of a tertiary hospital in North-central Nigeria, respectively. Stress and psychological distress were measured using the Perceived Stress scale-10 and Kessler Psychological Distress Scale-10, respectively. The serum concentration of AMH was determined using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. Results There was a significantly higher stress (p= 0.001) and psychological distress (p= 0.005) levels among infertile women; however, there was no difference in serum anti-Müllerian hormone levels between the two groups (p= 0.409). There was no significant correlation found between perceived stress and serum anti-Müllerian hormone in both infertile (r= 0.041,p= 0.719) and fertile (r= − 0.090,p= 0.353) women. There was also no correlation between psychological distress and serum anti-Müllerian hormone in the infertile (r= − 0.020,p= 0.860) and fertile (r= − 0.049,p= 0.636) groups. Controlling for age and body mass index in multivariate linear regression; stress and psychological distress were not significantly associated with serum anti-Müllerian hormone (B= − 0.005;p= 0.370 andB= − 0.001;p= 0.811). Conclusion Self-reported stress and psychological distress are not associated with serum anti-Müllerian hormone levels in infertile and fertile women of reproductive age. Also, ovarian ageing was accelerated in infertile women when compared to fertile women; however, this does not appear to be related to stress or psychological distress. More research is needed to understand factors that may contribute to this accelerated decline.