The impact of post-traumatic stress on the reproductive system of female military personnel, participants in the 44-day Кarabakh War in Azerbaijan

The study analyzed hormonal profiles in women exposed to various types of psychoemotional stress during the 44-day Karabakh War. Women who had direct contact with the wounded and were exposed to intense military stress experienced a significant decrease in anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) levels, reflecting depletion of ovarian reserve. While gonadotropin and steroid hormone levels showed variability and partial recovery, the AMH decrease was irreversible and determined a persistent loss of reproductive function. Women with less intense stress retained higher ovarian reserve and fertility potential. The results highlight the key importance of AMH as a marker of ovarian reserve and the need for early diagnosis and prevention of reproductive disorders in women exposed to prolonged psychoemotional stress.

https://doi.org/10.57105/2415-7252-2026-1-01

PDF article

References

. Feseyenko, M.A., Sivochalova, O.V., Fedorova, E.V. Occupational determinacy of reproductive system diseases in female workers employed in harmful working conditions // Health Risk Analysis, 2017; No. 3: pp. 92–100.

2. Grishaeva, Zh.E. Prognostic methods for assessing the risk of reproductive function disorders in female military personnel in the context of military professional activity // Pediatric Medicine of the North-West. – 2018. – Vol. 7, No. 1. – pp. 95–96.

3. Miller M.J., Ghadiali N.Y., Mental Health Across the Reproductive Cycle in Women Veterans //Military Medicine, Vol. 183, Issue 5-6, May-June 2018, Pages e140–e146. doi:10.1093/milmed/usx094.

4. American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed., text rev.). doi:10.1176/appi.books.9780890425787.

5. Yehuda, R., Flory, J. D., Southwick, S., & Charney, D. S. Developing an agenda for translational studies of resilience and vulnerability following trauma exposure // Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 2022;1071, 379–396. doi: 10.1196/annals.1364.028.

6. Mínguez-Alarcón L, Williams PL, Souter I, Ford JB, Hauser R, Chavarro JE, Earth Study Team Perceived stress and markers of ovarian reserve among subfertile women. Reprod Biomed Online. 2023; 46:956–964. doi: 10.1016/j.rbmo.2023.01.02

7. Schliep K.C, Mumford S.L, Vladutiu CJ. et al. Perceived stress, reproductive hormones, and ovulatory function: a prospective cohort study. Epidemiology, 2015; 26(2):177-84. doi: 10.1097/EDE.0000000000000238.

8. Kubasov R.V. Hormonal changes in response to extreme environmental factors. Bulletin of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences. 2014; 9–10: 102–109.

9. Ariza Traslaviña G.A., Franci C.R. The CRH-R1 receptor mediates luteinizing hormone, prolactin, corticosterone and progesterone secretion induced by restraint stress in estrogen-primed rats. Brain Res. 2011; 1421 (3): 11–19. doi: 10.1016/ j.brainres.2011.09.004.

10. Palomba S, Daolio J, Romeo S, Battaglia FA, Marci R, La Sala GB. Lifestyle and fertility: the influence of stress and quality of life on female fertility. Reprod Biol Endocrinol. 2018;16(1):113. doi: 10.1186/s12958-018-0434-y.

11. Golenbock SW, Wise LA, Lambert-Messerlian GM, Eklund EE, Harlow BL. Association between a history of depression and anti-müllerian hormone among late-reproductive aged women: The Harvard study of moods and cycles. Womens Midlife Health. 2020; 6:9. doi: 10.1186/s40695-020-00056-x

12. Hu Y, Wang W, Ma W, Wang W, Ren W, Wang S, Fu F, Li Y. Impact of psychological stress on ovarian function: Insights, mechanisms and intervention strategies (Review). Int J Mol Med. 2025 Feb;55(2):34. doi: 10.3892/ijmm.2024.5475

13. Allshouse AA, Semple AL, Santoro NF. Evidence for prolonged and unique amenorrhea-related symptoms in women with premature ovarian failure/primary ovarian insufficiency. Menopause. 2015;22: 166-174. doi: 10.1097/GME.000000000 0000286.

14. Moolhuijsen LME, Visser JA. Anti-Müllerian Hormone and Ovarian Reserve: Update on Assessing Ovarian Function. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2020;105(11):3361-73. doi: 10.1210/clinem/dgaa513.

15. Dong YZ, Zhou FJ, Sun YP. Psychological stress is related to a decrease of serum anti-müllerian hormone level in infertile women. Reprod. Biol Endocrinol., 2017,11;15(1):51. doi: 10.1186/s12958-017-0271-4.

Стаття надійшла в редакцію: 14.12.2025/Received: 14.12.2025

Після доопрацювання: 05.01.2026/Revised: 05.01.2026

Прийнято до друку: 10.02.2026/Accepted: 10.02.2026

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.