Endocrine Abstracts

We already know that woman with PCOS face increased risk of glucose intolerance, diabetes, metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular disease. However, it seems that it doesn’t apply to all women with PCOS and depends on their phenotypes.

Aim of the study: Evaluation of tissue glucose utilization and lipid’s profile in different PCOS phenotypes.

Materials and Methods: 69 PCOS women were divided into ten phenotypes groups, according to R. Azziz classification based on four characteristics: oligoovulatio, ovaries PCO in USG, separately hirsutism and hyperandrogenemia.

Lab tests were done using ELISA commercial kits. Evaluation methods of insulin resistance used: hyperinsulinemic euglycemic clamp, HOMA–IR, glucose and insulin was measured during OGTT.

Results: Out of 69 PCOS women 22 women belong to the classic phenotype one with oligoovulatio, PCO ovaries, hyperandrogenemia and hirsutism and 18 women with oligoovulatio, PCO ovaries, and hirsutism but without hyperandrogenemia to phenotype five.

The correlation between tissue glucose utilization and BMI, then with FAI is statistically significant.

Allocation of PCOS patients to ten phenotypes doesn’t form any separate clusters. However 88% women with phenotype two and 86% with phenotype five, respectively, appeared in two clusters confirming the difference between these phenotypes.

Tissue glucose utilization in PCOS patients is negatively correlated with HOMA and positively with HDL and HOMA but negatively correlated with HDL.

Conclusion: i) Tissue glucose utilization value remains below norm in PCOS patients with hyperandrogenemia suggesting they are insulin resistance and is proper in PCOS patients with hirsutism only suggesting that they are’t insulin resistance.

ii) Patients with PCOS, depending on their phenotype, should be considered as two separate groups in terms of their future disease risks. Women without hyperandrogenemia but only with hirsutism don’t show any metabolic abnormalities while women with PCOS and hyperandrogenemia show lower insulin sensitivity and abnormal lipid’s profile.