scholarly journals Metabolic syndrome and polycystic ovary syndrome... and vice versa

2009 ◽  
Vol 53 (2) ◽  
pp. 227-237 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eleni Kandaraki ◽  
Charikleia Christakou ◽  
Evanthia Diamanti-Kandarakis

The metabolic syndrome (MS) and the polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) appear to be interrelated, although they are distinct entities. Women with PCOS appear to be commonly affected by MS, while women with MS may display reproductive or endocrine features of PCOS. These clinical observations appear to be only partly attributable to the association of both syndromes with obesity and imply a reciprocal pathophysiologic relationship between PCOS and MS with potentially significant clinical sequelae. Adult women with MS are at a greater risk of developing cardiovascular disease; women with PCOS also appear to carry such an increased risk in their postmenopausal life. Conversely, women with MS may experience reproductive disturbances, reminiscent of PCOS, more commonly than their counterparts from the general population. This review presented the current epidemiology of MS in adults and adolescents with PCOS, as well as the limited amount of data on the prevalence of features of PCOS among women with MS or MS features. We also discuss the potential pathophysiologic mechanisms underlying the relationship between these interweaving, but distinct, syndromes.

2006 ◽  
Vol 155 (2) ◽  
pp. 337-345 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dorte Glintborg ◽  
Marianne Andersen ◽  
Claus Hagen ◽  
Jan Frystyk ◽  
Veronica Hulstrøm ◽  
...  

Objective: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) patients are abdominally obese and are at increased risk of developing the metabolic syndrome. Low adiponectin and ghrelin levels in PCOS patients could be caused by insulin resistance as well as high testosterone levels. Design: Adiponectin and ghrelin levels were evaluated in 51 hirsute PCOS patients referred to the outpatient clinic of an academic, tertiary care medical centre and in 63 weight-matched female controls. Relationships between adiponectin, ghrelin, leptin, body composition, testosterone and insulin were examined. Methods: Measurements of body composition including waist-hip-ratio (WHR), body mass index (BMI) and whole body dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry scan measures of body fat mass. Measurements of fasting levels of adiponectin, ghrelin, leptin, androgen status, oestradiol, lipid variables and insulin during follicular phase. Results: Adiponectin levels were significantly decreased in obese PCOS patients compared with weight-matched controls (geometric mean (−2 to 2 s.d.) 5.3 (2.5–11.1) vs 7.3 (3.0–17.4) mg/l, P<0.05). Mean ghrelin was significantly lower in hirsute PCOS patients than in controls (0.6 (0.3 to 1.4) vs 0.8 (0.4 to 1.7) μg/l, P<0.001) and this remained significant after subdividing subjects according to waist circumference and BMI. During multiple regression analysis, testosterone correlated positively with adiponectin and negatively with ghrelin independent of BMI, WHR and total fat mass. Conclusion: Obese hirsute PCOS patients demonstrated significantly lower adiponectin levels than weight-matched controls suggesting a very high risk for the metabolic syndrome. Furthermore, ghrelin levels were decreased in hirsute PCOS patients and showed a significant, negative correlation with testosterone independent of body composition.


2005 ◽  
Vol 90 (4) ◽  
pp. 1929-1935 ◽  
Author(s):  
Teimuraz Apridonidze ◽  
Paulina A. Essah ◽  
Maria J. Iuorno ◽  
John E. Nestler

Abstract The polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is characterized by insulin resistance with compensatory hyperinsulinemia. Insulin resistance also plays a role in the metabolic syndrome (MBS). We hypothesized that the MBS is prevalent in PCOS and that women with both conditions would present with more hyperandrogenism and menstrual cycle irregularity than women with PCOS only. We conducted a retrospective chart review of all women with PCOS seen over a 3-yr period at an endocrinology clinic. Of the 161 PCOS cases reviewed, 106 met the inclusion criteria. The women were divided into two groups: 1) women with PCOS and the MBS (n = 46); and 2) women with PCOS lacking the MBS (n = 60). Prevalence of the MBS was 43%, nearly 2-fold higher than that reported for age-matched women in the general population. Women with PCOS had persistently higher prevalence rates of the MBS than women in the general population, regardless of matched age and body mass index ranges. Acanthosis nigricans was more frequent in women with PCOS and the MBS. Women with PCOS and the MBS had significantly higher levels of serum free testosterone (P = 0.002) and lower levels of serum SHBG (P = 0.001) than women with PCOS without the MBS. No differences in total testosterone were observed between the groups. We conclude that the MBS and its components are common in women with PCOS, placing them at increased risk for cardiovascular disease. Women with PCOS and the MBS differ from their counterparts lacking the MBS in terms of increased hyperandrogenemia, lower serum SHBG, and higher prevalence of acanthosis nigricans, all features that may reflect more severe insulin resistance.


Author(s):  
Iris Lee ◽  
Julia Vresilovic ◽  
Maryam Irfan ◽  
Robert Gallop ◽  
Anuja Dokras

Abstract Context Cross-sectional studies have identified an increased risk of metabolic syndrome (MetSyn) in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), but longitudinal data are limited and primarily include White and European cohorts. Objective To compare the longitudinal risk of MetSyn in Black and White women with PCOS and to identify potential factors mediating the risk of MetSyn. Methods Longitudinal cohort study with a follow-up of 5.3 years at an academic medical center of 247 adult women with hyperandrogenic PCOS phenotype with 2 or more visits at least 3 years apart. The main outcome measure was incidence of MetSyn in Black and White women with PCOS. Results Using a mixed-effects model over time, the incidence of MetSyn was higher in Black women (45.9 ± 4.74 per 100 person-years) than in White women (31.3 ± 3.03 per 100 person-years) (P &lt; .01) after adjusting for age and medication status. This difference persisted among women under age 30. Among Black women who did not have MetSyn at their prior visit, 28.0% had MetSyn at the next visit, compared with 12.1% of White women after adjusting for age and medication status (P &lt; .01). In both races, the model-based estimated rates of MetSyn increased significantly with increase in body mass index and free testosterone. Conclusion We describe a persistent higher incidence of MetSyn in Black than in White women with PCOS. In addition to early cardiometabolic screening at the time of diagnosis, our findings highlight the need for ongoing and frequent screening in this population.


2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (6) ◽  
pp. 595-603 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sezcan Mumusoglu ◽  
Bulent Okan Yildiz

The metabolic syndrome (MetS) comprises individual components including central obesity, insulin resistance, dyslipidaemia and hypertension and it is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). The menopause per se increases the incidence of MetS in aging women. The effect(s) of menopause on individual components of MetS include: i) increasing central obesity with changes in the fat tissue distribution, ii) potential increase in insulin resistance, iii) changes in serum lipid concentrations, which seem to be associated with increasing weight rather than menopause itself, and, iv) an association between menopause and hypertension, although available data are inconclusive. With regard to the consequences of MetS during menopause, there is no consistent data supporting a causal relationship between menopause and CVD. However, concomitant MetS during menopause appears to increase the risk of CVD. Furthermore, despite the data supporting the association between early menopause and increased risk of T2DM, the association between natural menopause itself and risk of T2DM is not evident. However, the presence and the severity of MetS appears to be associated with an increased risk of T2DM. Although the mechanism is not clear, surgical menopause is strongly linked with a higher incidence of MetS. Interestingly, women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) have an increased risk of MetS during their reproductive years; however, with menopausal transition, the risk of MetS becomes similar to that of non-PCOS women.


2011 ◽  
Vol 96 (5) ◽  
pp. 1271-1274 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miriam Hudecova ◽  
Jan Holte ◽  
Matts Olovsson ◽  
Anders Larsson ◽  
Christian Berne ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ky'Era V. Actkins ◽  
Genevieve Jean-Pierre ◽  
Melinda C. Aldrich ◽  
Digna R. Velez Edwards ◽  
Lea K. Davis

Females with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), the most common endocrine disorder in women, have an increased risk of developing metabolic disorders such as insulin resistance, obesity, and type 2 diabetes (T2D). Furthermore, while only diagnosable in females, males with a family history of PCOS can also exhibit a poor cardiometabolic profile. Therefore, we aimed to elucidate the role of sex in the relationship between PCOS and its comorbidities by conducting bidirectional genetic risk score analyses in both sexes. We conducted a phenome-wide association study (PheWAS) using PCOS polygenic risk scores (PCOSPRS) to understand the pleiotropic effects of PCOS genetic liability across 1,380 medical conditions in females and males recorded in the Vanderbilt University Medical Center electronic health record (EHR) database. After adjusting for age and genetic ancestry, we found that European descent males with higher PCOSPRS were significantly more likely to develop cardiovascular diseases than females at the same level of genetic risk, while females had a higher odds of developing T2D. Based on observed significant associations, we tested the relationship between PRS for comorbid conditions (e.g., T2D, body mass index, hypertension, etc.) and found that only PRS generated for BMI and T2D were associated with a PCOS diagnosis. We then further decomposed the T2DPRS association with PCOS by adjusting the model for measured BMI and BMIresidual (enriched for the environmental contribution to BMI). Results demonstrated that genetically regulated BMI primarily accounted for the relationship between T2DPRS and PCOS. This was further supported in a mediation analysis, which only revealed clinical BMI measurements, but not BMIresidual, as a strong mediator for both sexes. Overall, our findings show that the genetic architecture of PCOS has distinct metabolic sex differences, but these associations are only apparent when PCOSPRS is explicitly modeled. It is possible that these pathways are less explained by the direct genetic risk of metabolic traits than they are by the risk factors shared between them, which can be influenced by biological variables such as sex.


Author(s):  
Sophie Catteau-Jonard ◽  
Cécile Gallo ◽  
Didier Didier

The polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is the most common cause of anovulation and hyperandrogenism in women, affecting between 5 and 10% of women of reproductive age worldwide (1). Although this difficult topic in endocrine gynaecology is under extensive research, controversies still remain about the pathophysiology, diagnosis, and therapy of PCOS. The PCOS phenotype can be structured in three components: manifestations of anovulation, hyperandrogenism, and the metabolic syndrome (of which hyperinsulinaemia secondary to insulin resistance is the central abnormality). The latter two are addressed in other chapters. Our knowledge about the mechanism of disturbed folliculogenesis in PCOS that is responsible for its reproductive aspects has much increased these last years, thus opening new avenues for the diagnostic and therapeutic approaches.


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