Endocrine Abstracts

PCOS has major long-term health implications that are closely linked to the Metabolic Syndrome. The prevalence of the Metabolic Syndrome is high among migrant and indigenous South Asian populations. We have previously demonstrated that migrant South Asians with PCOS have a greater degree of insulin resistance than white Europeans with PCOS. As there is a paucity of data on PCOS among indigenous South Asian populations, consecutive consenting anovular PCOS subjects (80) and age matched controls (45) from a specialist endocrine clinic, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka were studied.
Sri Lankan PCOS vs. Controls:
Type 2 diabetes in first-degree relatives: 56/80 (7 per cent) vs. 5/45 (11 per cent) (p < 0.0001).
BMI 26.3 plus/minus 0.95 vs. 23.1 plus/minus 0.06, p = 0.55; WHR 0.95 plus/minus 0.01 vs. 0.79 plus/minus 0.03, p = 0.03, FG score 10 vs. 2 (p = 0.001); acne in 29 (35 per cent), and acanthosis nigricans in 57 (71 per cent).
Fasting blood glucose 5.61 plus/minus 0.54 vs. 4.95 plus/minus 0.12 minimoles/per litre, p = 0.36; fasting insulin 242.9 plus/minus 38.9 vs. 75.6 plus/minus 0.8 picomoles/per litre, p = 0.0003; insulin sensitivity (QUICKI) 0.305 plus/minus 0.011 vs. 0.333 plus/minus 0.014, p = 0.0006.
Serum testosterone 2.88 plus/minus 0.2 vs. 2.41 plus/minus 0.3 nanomoles/per litre, p = 0.34 and SHBG 29.1 plus/minus 2.05 vs. 55.8 plus/minus 4.25 nanomoles/per litre, p < 0.0001.
Fasting cholesterol 6.1plus/minus 0.03 vs. 5.8 plus/minus 0.01 minimoles/per litre, p = 0.14; triglycerides 3.3 plus/minus 0.2 vs. 2.6 plus/minus 0.1 minimoles/per litre, p = 0.03; and HDL 1.16 plus/minus 0.1 vs. 1.4 plus/minus 0.2, p = 0.01.
Conclusions: PCOS subjects from the indigenous population of Sri Lanka are more centrally obese, hirsute, have high prevalence of metabolic disease with greater degree of insulin resistance than age and ethnicity matched controls. Age matched women with PCOS residing in Sri Lanka have a greater degree of central obesity for a given BMI despite less severe hirsutism, than affected British Asians.