Effect of mRNA COVID-19 vaccine on ovarian reserve of women of reproductive age

Objectives:To evaluate the effect of messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) vaccines developed for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus type 2 (SARS-CoV-2) on the ovarian reserve of women of reproductive age. Material and methods:This prospective study was conducted between July and December 2022 in a tertiary care hospital affiliated with a university. A total of 117 patients were included in the study. The patients were divided into two groups. The first group (n = 62) consisted of women of reproductive age who received two doses of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine administered 21 days apart. The control group (n = 55) included women with the same demographic characteristics who did not plan to be vaccinated. Hormonal values and basal antral follicle count were compared between two groups. Results: The mean age of the study group was 26.3 +/- 3.6 years, and the mean age of the control group was 25.4 +/- 6.2 years (p = 0.332). In the vaccinated group, mean follicular stimulating hormone (FSH) on day 2 was 5.29 +/- 2.28; luteinizing hormone (LH): 5.18 +/- 1.3; E2: 46.43 +/- 24.51; anti-Mullerian hormone (AMH): 4.17 +/- 2.1; antral follicle count: 16.23 +/- 8.04; right ovarian volume: 6.4 +/- 1.7; left ovarian volume: 6.2 +/- 2.1. FSH measured at D2 in the control group was 5.68 +/- 1.89; LH: 5.22 +/- 2.2; E2: 48.41 +/- 27.12; AMH: 4.30 +/- 1.74; number of antral follicles: 15.64 +/- 9.04; right ovarian volume: 6.1 +/- 1.8; left ovarian volume: 6.3 +/- 1.4. There were no statistically significant differences for FSH, LH, E2, AMH, ovarian volume, and number of antral follicles on the second day of menstruation between the groups. Conclusions: According to the results of the present study, the mRNA SARS-CoV-2 vaccine does not affect the ovarian reserve of patients.