Widely advertised hormone test unreliable as fertility prediction tool for women, researchers say

Experts warn women are making ‘significant life changes’ based on the anti-Müllerian hormone test, which they say is not reliable for many of its advertised uses

By Melissa Davey

Accredited fertility clinics are among companies misleading women about a blood test used to indicate fertility, resulting in women potentially making misinformed health decisions, researchers say.

Dr Tessa Copp, from the University of Sydney’s school of public health, says she and her colleagues are concerned by an increasing number of advertisements that overstate what the anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) test is useful for.

The blood test measures levels of anti-Müllerian hormone, which is linked to the number of eggs in a woman’s ovaries. As the number of ovarian follicles declines with age, AMH concentrations also decrease.

The AMH test can be helpful for people considering fertility treatment as it indicates the approximate number of eggs that can be retrieved for IVF or egg freezing.

But it cannot reliably predict the chances of conceiving, fertility status, the health of eggs, or the specific age of menopause for individual women. It can also be inaccurate.