A pilot study for exploring blood spot anti-mullerian hormone for population-based adolescent reproductive health research
Hall et al.
The finding, in our words
Finger-stick dried blood spots from 191 young women yielded anti-Müllerian hormone concentrations in the normal range (mean 5.66 ng/mL) and were deemed acceptable, with 81 per cent comfortable with collection and 88 per cent willing to repeat it. This supports feasibility of decentralised reproductive health studies, though validation against gold-standard measures remains necessary.
A paraphrase to the Library’s standard, never the abstract. The source is one link away and is always the authority.
Home DBS sampling gave testosterone results that agreed well with venous blood in men on intramuscular testosterone undecanoate, but showed falsely high values in those using topical gel, likely from skin contamination. Patients preferred home collection for its convenience, suggesting DBS is viable for decentralised monitoring of injectable testosterone if patients are taught proper technique.
Capillary dried blood spots yielded reference ranges for testosterone, androstenedione, 17α hydroxyprogesterone and progesterone in healthy premenopausal women, with lower concentrations in users of systemic hormonal contraceptives and cycle-related variation for 17OHP and P4. These ranges enable screening for disorders of sex development using less invasive microsampling.
This study found that dried blood spot samples stored at room temperature for four years correlated highly with serum measurements for testosterone and androstenedione, indicating that hematocrit adjustment may be unnecessary for serial monitoring in home-based self-sampling.
A remote protocol combining daily surveys with weekly self-collected dried blood spots achieved a 92% study completion rate and high acceptability among reproductive-age women smokers, with 87% of participants collecting most samples and the same proportion extremely willing to repeat the study. This feasibility demonstrates that decentralised microsampling can support longitudinal research on hormonal contraceptive effects and smoking behaviour.
Young female cancer survivors aged 18 to 44 can successfully self-collect dried blood spot samples at home, with 91% submitting specimens adequate for AMH assay. This demonstrates feasibility of patient-centric, decentralised monitoring of ovarian reserve in geographically dispersed populations, though generalisability may be limited to highly educated, higher-income groups.