When a young lady is told her Anti-Mullerian Hormone (AMH) levels are low, it generally creates uncertainty and anxiety. After all, AMH is closely associated with fertility and ovarian reserve, two terms that can have an intimidating ring to them if you’re still in your 20s or early 30s. But before you go reading too much into it, know that having low AMH doesn’t paint an entire picture of your fertility, and what can cause it at an early age is less well-documented than we would like. Looking for Low AMH treatment in Ahmedabad? Visit Shachi Women’s Hospital.
So let’s dig into low AMH reasons, lifestyle factors and medical conditions that can impact your ovarian health, and what you can do about it.
Understanding AMH and Its Role
AMH is secreted by small follicles in the ovaries. These follicles house immature eggs, which can turn into mature ones during your menstrual cycle. Put more plainly, AMH gives doctors a ballpark figure of how many of your eggs you have, but not necessarily how good those eggs are.
Now, AMH does decline naturally with age; however, some women have low AMH at a young age, and that can be a bit unexpected and distressing. So, what are your low AMH causes at a young age?
1. Genetic Factors
What is often at play is your genes having a powerful but silent hand. Some women inherit an early tendency to lose ovarian reserve from their mothers or grandmothers. Genetic abnormalities like Turner’s syndrome or fragile X premutation may also be to blame for low AMH levels, even in women younger than 30.
If many women in your family have experienced early menopause or fertility problems, genetics could be a significant factor contributing to your low AMH.
2. Autoimmune Disorders
Sometimes, the immune system attacks the body’s own ovarian cells by mistake and destroys the follicles that make AMH. Other conditions, e.g. autoimmune thyroid disease, Addison’s disease or autoimmune oophoritis, may cause ovarian function to decrease slowly over time.
This immune response is usually silent until levels of AMH are measured, and the results come back abnormally low.
3. Lifestyle and Environmental Factors
The influence of modern lifestyle greatly affects reproductive hormones, although it may be subtle.
- Related : Every day reasons why AMH is low, too many overlook here are some everyday reasons your AMH is low that a lot of times get missed
- Smoking : Toxins found in cigarettes accelerate the depletion of healthy follicles and lower AMH.
- Alcohol Abuse : Long-term consumption can screw with your estrogen levels and ovaries.
- Malnutrition : Imbalanced diets, not containing key vitamins such as vitamin D, zinc , and folate, can affect the production of AMH.
- Long-term pressings : Raised cortisol can disrupt hormone signalling in the brain-ovary axis.
- Pollution and Toxin Exposure : Pesticides, plasticisers and heavy metals can harm ovarian cells on a microscopic level.
Although each of these things may sound small in and of itself, together they can slowly add up to low AMH at a shockingly young age.
4. Endometriosis
Those with endometriosis are also more likely to have lower AMH levels, especially if cysts (endometriomas) form on the ovaries. These cysts can decrease the overall number of healthy follicles and disrupt typical hormone production.
Surgical excision of endometriomas can also decrease ovarian parenchyma with a subsequent effect on AMH.
5. Previous Surgery or Medical Treatment on the Ovary
Perhaps you’ve had surgery on your ovaries for cysts, fibroids or other reasons, and it interfered with the surrounding healthy ovarian tissue. So can medical treatments such as chemotherapy or radiation, which may wreak havoc on egg-producing follicles.
These are the most frequent low AMH medical reasons in young women following cancer or severe reproductive diseases.
6. Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) and Hormonal Imbalance
Curiously, it is not the case that all PCOS women have high AMH levels — some will exhibit transient and sometimes even low levels over time. Often, chronic hormonal imbalances, insulin resistance or high androgen levels may interfere with appropriate follicular development, leading to a gradual decrease in AMH.
7. Unexplained or Idiopathic Causes
Sometimes, there’s no readily apparent medical or lifestyle cause at all. This is idiopathic low AMH, meaning it occurs without any known reason. In this situation, occult cellular or genetic factors could be affecting the ovarian function, beyond what standard tests can identify.
Final Thoughts
The news that you have low AMH can be disappointing when you’re young, but it doesn’t mean infertility. Shachi Women’s Hospital has the solution for it. AMH is just one piece of the fertility process. Many women with low AMH have since become naturally pregnant or successfully become pregnant using treatment such as IVF.
To know the low AMH causes will enable you to take control of your reproductive health early and make intelligent life choices for yourself, develop a healthier lifestyle pattern and also get prompt counselling from an expert fertility doctor.
And later, fertility is not indicated by one number on a test. It’s a process that hinges on equilibrium, care and early vigilance.
