OVARIAN RESERVE IN FERTILE WOMEN AS DETERMINED BY ULTRASONOGRAPHY

Objective: To determine ovarian reserve in naturally fertile adult women.Study design: Cross-sectional, analytical study. Methods: Healthy fertile females (11 = 70) aged 20-39 years with proven natural fertility were recruitedbetween March and December 2006. Of these, 40 met the inclusion criteria. Total ovarian volume wascalculated using the transabdominal and transvaginal ultrasound approach and an antral follicle count wasperformed transvaginally. The height and weight o f each individual was taken to calculate the BML andthe correlation made between ovarian volume (determined tran sv ag in a lly ) and the BMI. Results: The women were divided into 2 groups o f 20 each viz. between 20 29 years, and between 30 -39 years. Total ovarian volume determined by transabdominal scan was 13 ±3.46 ml and 7.92 ±2.0 mlrespectively in the two groups, and by transvaginal route was 15.13 ±4.37 ml and 9.97 ±2.99 ml respectively(p-value o f both was 0.001).The AFC w as 9.40 ± 2.37and 5.3 ± 2.05 in the two groups (p-value 0.001).The BMI o f the 2 groups w as 23.4 ±3.97 and 24.4 ± 3.8 (p-value 0.421).The correlation between ovarianvolume and BMI was -0.40 (p-value 0.05). Conclusion: Ovarian volume and antral follicle count were reduced significantly in the older age group;there was no difference between the BMI of the two age groups. When BMI of all women was plotted againstovarian volume, a decrease in the ovarian volume was observed with an increase in BML