The usefulness of ovarian volume using 3D VOCAL transvaginal ultrasound, antral follicle count and age as predictors of menopause in pre- and postmenopausal women

Kim, Yoon Sook; Jeon, Seob; Kim, Jong Su; Choi, Seung Do; Sunwoo, Jae Gun; Shin, Young Woo; Bae, Dong Han

Abstract

OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of ovarian volume using 3D VOCAL and 2D ultrasound, antral follicle count, and age as predictors of menopausal status in pre- and postmenopausal women.
METHODS
The subjects of this study were premenopausal (n=38) and postmenopausal (n=23) healthy women aged between 35 and 57 years of age who were interviewed about social, demographic, and medical conditions. These women underwent transvaginal ultrasound using 3D VOCAL and 2D probe to determine ovarian volume. Chi-square test was applied to evaluate the correlation between ovarian volume, antral follicle count, age and menopausal status. Receiver operating Characteristic (ROC) curves were elaborated to evaluate the sensitivity, specificity and positive and negative predictive values.
RESULTS
Premenopausal women presented larger ovaries than postmenopausal women (p<0.01). Premenopausal women had a higher number of antral follicles than postmenopausal women (p<0.01). ROC curves showed that antral follicle count and ovarian volume using 3D VOCAL transvaginal probe were more sensitive and specific markers of menopausal status than age or ovarian volume using 2D transvaginal probe.
CONCLUSIONS
Ovarian volume and antral follicle count differ according to age in pre- and postmenopausal women. The data suggest that antral follicle count and ovarian volume using 3D VOCAL transvaginal probe are quite useful in predicting menopausal status.