The effect of exercise on anti-Mullerian hormone levels in patients with polycystic ovary syndrome: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

Background: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is considered as the most common endocrinopathy among women of childbearing age and the most important cause of anovulatory infertility. The present study aimed to estimate the pooled effect of exercise on anti-Mullerian hormone (AMH) levels in PCOS women using systematic review and meta-analysis. Main body: The present study was conducted according to the PRISMA guidelines from 2011 to October 2021. All published studies, which met the inclusion criteria, were searched in SID, MagIran, Embase, PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science (WoS) databases, and Google Scholar motor engine using related MeSH/Emtree terms, which were combined with free text word. Finally, 12 articles were included in the meta-analysis. As a result of the combination of the studies, after exercise, AMH level in the intervention group significantly decreased up to 0.517 ± 0.169 more than that in the control group (P ˂ 0.05). The results of subgroup analysis demonstrated that the effect of resistance training for 16 weeks was higher on women with body mass index (BMI) (≥ 25 kg/m2) and AMH (≥ 10 ng/mL) before the intervention. GRADEpro software was used to grade the level of evidence. Conclusion: This systematic review and meta-analysis showed that either strength exercise or aerobic exercise decrease the AMH level in PCOS women. It seems more duration of the exercise has a more potential advantage to reduce the AMH levels in women with PCOS. Although the results graded by very low-quality evidence, it is recommended to include exercise in the treatment programs of PCOS patients.