High anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) is associated with increased risks of ectopic pregnancy in women undergoing fresh embryo transfer cycle, a cohort study

BACKGROUND: Ectopic pregnancy is more common amongst assisted reproduction cycles and is a cause of significant maternal morbidity. Few predictive markers exist to help identify and modify risk of ectopic pregnancy in preparing for embryo transfer. The relationship between serum and AMH and ectopic pregnancy rate is unknown. METHODS: This was a retrospective cohort study investigating women who underwent fresh embryo transfer cycles from January 2017 to December 2019 in Peking University Third Hospital. The primary outcome was ectopic pregnancy. Restricted cubic splines with four knots for AMH concentration (0-3, 3-6, 6-12, 12-max) were used to map out the non-linear relationship between the predicted ectopic pregnancy rate and the serum AMH concentration. Log binomial regression was used to test the crude risk ratio (cRR) and the adjusted risk ratio (aRR) after adjustment for confounders with 95% confidence intervals (CI) to determine the difference across various groups. RESULTS: A total of 13,718 cycles in women undergoing fresh embryo transfer were eligible for analysis. The ectopic pregnancy rate was 1.3% per embryo transfer cycle initiated and 3.3% per pregnancy. Serum AMH concentrations were higher amongst women with ectopic pregnancy than in women with a confirmed intrauterine pregnancy or heterotopic pregnancy or who did not become pregnant (Mean levels: 4.0 ng/ml vs 3.2 ng/ml, 1.7 ng/ml, and 2.8 ng/ml). An AMH concentration of 7 ng/ml represented the best cut-off value to predict ectopic pregnancy. The ectopic pregnancy rate was 3.4% per cycle and 7.5% per pregnancy in women with AMH levels ≥ 7 ng/ml; and 1.2% per cycle and 2.9% per pregnancy in women with AMH levels < 7 ng/ml. Serum AMH concentration ≥ 7 ng/ml was associated with an increased risk of ectopic pregnancy in all fresh embryo transfer cycles started (aRR = 2.35 (1.45, 3.58)) as well in women who became pregnant (aRR = 2.23 (1.49, 3.33). CONCLUSIONS: Baseline AMH concentration ≥ 7 ng/ml is associated with an increased risk of ectopic pregnancy in fresh embryo transfer cycles. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12958-022-01038-6.