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SYDNEY: A new blood test is able to more accurately predict the age at which women reached menopause, according to an Iranian researcher.
Fahimeh Ramazani Tehrani addressed these new findings at the 26th annual meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology in Rome.
"The results from our study could enable us to make a more realistic assessment of women's reproductive status many years before they reach menopause," Tehrani from Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences in Tehran, Iran, said in a statement.
Hormone AMH predicts age of menopause
The Australian average age for menopause onset is 51.7 but age related menopause can start anywhere between 40-60 years. Until now, predicting menopause age for an individual has been very difficult.
But Tehrani and colleagues were able to measure a hormone in the blood of women that allowed them to estimate the age of menopause to within a third of a year. In the study, blood samples were taken from 266 women with ages ranging from 20-49 years. Two more blood samples were taken at three and six year intervals.
Anti-Mullerian Hormone (AMH), a hormone that controls ovulation was measured from the blood samples. AMH is used in IVF and is considered a marker of ovarian reserve.
0.4 nanograms less means early menopause
Tehrani and her team found that AMH levels of 4.1 ng/mL (nanograms per millilitre) in a 20 year-old is predicative of early menopause whereas AMH levels of 4.5 ng/mL or higher in a 20 year-old predicts menopause onset after the age of 50.
With a more accurate indicator of fertility, women in their twenties could be made aware of their reproductive longevity and plan accordingly, the researchers said.
Teherani concedes that their statistical model still needs to be tested on a greater number of women.
Unique statistical model
Lorraine Dennerstein, who specialises in women's' sexual health from the University of Melbourne, agrees with the results of the study but warns "their results are based on a small sample and much larger prospective population based study results are needed".
Henry Burger, from Prince Henry's Institute in Melbourne, claims that studies in AMH levels have "advanced enormously in the past few years" but that Teherani's statistical model is unique.
He believes that menopause prediction will be most useful and reliable in younger women as AMH levels in women closer to menopause tend to fluctuate. Currently in Australia pathology centres perform AMH level tests, however this test is often performed during IVF treatment.
