Endocrine Abstracts

Objectives: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is one of the most common endocrinopathies in women. Its increasing prevalence is probably related to environmental estrogens exposure, such as bisphenol A (BPA). BPA is considered to play an important role in the ethiopathogenesis of PCOS and can be responsible for various clinical symptoms. Aim of the study was to compare the levels of urinary BPA between PCOS women and healthy controls and to assess the relationship of BPA to sexual steroid hormones and metabolic parameters in the PCOS group.

Subjects and methods: Study included 86 Caucasian women with PCOS (age 28.5+5.1 years, range 19–43) and 32 controls (age 24.9+4.4, range 21–35 years). All subjects were examined for urinary BPA, sex steroid hormones and parameters of glucose and lipid metabolism.

Results: PCOS women had significantly higher BPA than controls (6.1+0.786 μg/g creatinine vs 1.65+1.2 μg/g creatinine, P=0.0035). BPA positively correlated with age (P=0.01; R²=0.1), SHBG (P=0.05; R²=0.07) and negatively with estrone (P=0.005; R²=0.12), DHEAS (P=0.033; R²=0.18) and free androgen index (FAI) (P=0.05; R²=0.08), respectively. Other steroid hormones (testosterone, free-testosterone, androstenedione, estradiol) and metabolic parametres (BMI, glucose, insuline, HOMA-IR, total cholesterol, LDL, HDL and triacylglycerols) did not show any significant relations. When divided PCOS women into two subgroups according to BPA levels (group with normal BPA and group with elevated BPA, cut off value =2.14 μg/g creatinine), there was found a significantly higher serum estrone (153.9+25.0 pg/ml vs 88.0+20.0 pg/ml; P=0.05) and FAI (13.23%+1.7 vs 7.56%+1.7; P=0.029) in the group with normal BPA, and higher SHBG (38.26+9.8 nmol/l vs 65.63+9.6 nmol/l; P=0.046) as well as insulin (10.46+1.8 mIU/l vs 15.2+1.5 mIU/l; P=0.05) in the group with elevated BPA.

Conclusion: We conclude that PCOS patients have higher urinary BPA levels than healthy controls. Increased urinary BPA is related to lower levels of some steroid hormones, such as estrone, DHEAS and FAI, indicating a possible suppressive efect of bisphenols on steroidogenesis.