Neighborhood Poverty May Impact Women”s Ovarian Reserves

FRIDAY, March 15, 2024 (HealthDay News) — Living in a neighborhood with greater poverty in adulthood is tied to lower ovarian reserve, according to a study published online March 5 in Menopause.

Anwesha Pan, from the University of Washington in Seattle, and colleagues aimed to examine the association between neighborhood poverty and ovarian reserve. Analysis included data from 1,019 healthy premenopausal women participating in the Ovarian Aging Study.

The researchers found that there was a significant association between age and antimüllerian hormone (AMH), which varied by degree of exposure to neighborhood poverty in adulthood (b = −0.001). There were progressive declines observed in AMH across women exposed to low, medium, and high levels of neighborhood poverty. Main effects analysis showed that higher neighborhood poverty was significantly associated with higher AMH only in younger women (b = 0.022). There were no significant associations seen for antral follicle count.

“This study highlights the potential effect of early life adversity, and specifically neighborhood poverty, on ovarian reserve, which in turn has implications for the timing of menopause onset and risk for diseases of aging,” Stephanie Faubion, M.D., medical director of The Menopause Society, said in a statement. “These findings add to the understanding of the adverse effect of psychological stress on reproductive health.”

Abstract/Full Text (subscription or payment may be required)