Ovarian reserve 'influenced by hereditary factors'

Females aiming to measure their fertility might benefit from finding out when their mother began experiencing the menopause.

A new study carried out at Copenhagen University Hospital and published in Human Reproduction has revealed if the mother goes through an early menopause, their daughter is likely to have fewer eggs in their ovaries.

"Our findings support the idea that ovarian reserve is influenced by hereditary factors," said lead researcher Dr Janne Bentzen.

The findings were based on assessments of the anti-Mullierian hormone and antral follicle count in daughters, which were compared with the age at which their mothers starting experiencing the menopause.

Dr Bentzen described this as the first study to suggest that a decline in these two indicators could be linked to when a woman's mother became menopausal.

However, she stressed that further long-term follow-up tests need to be carried out in order to allow researchers to draw a firm conclusion.

Posted by Alexandra George