Endocrine Abstracts

The purpose of the menstrual cycle is to prepare the egg for fertilization and implantation. The changes and functions of the basic steroid hormones during the menstrual cycle are well known. However, changes to other hormones occur during the menstrual cycle as well, including those influencing the intake of food. These changes have been described inconsistently in the literature, especially considering differences in overweight and obese women. The aim of this study was to describe the relationships between hormones associated with food intake and steroid during the menstrual cycle, along with differences between normal-weight and overweight women.

The study included 27 healthy women (average age 28.0 ± 3.4 years) with regular menstrual cycles (cycle length 28 ± days) who did not use any pharmaceuticals. These women were followed for one menstrual cycle, with regular measurements of body composition parameters, blood samples taken (fasting between 0700 and 0800 h), and daily food intake noted. We analyzed the following steroid hormones: cortisol, cortisone, DHEA, 7α-OH-DHEA, 7β-OH-DHEA, 7-oxo-DHEA, pregnenolone, 17-OH-pregnenolone, testosterone, aldosterone, corticosterone, androstenedione, estrone, estradiol, estriol (LC-MS/MS), and progesterone (RIA); complex of hormones associated with food intake: c-peptide, ghrelin, GIP, GLP-1, glucagon, insulin, leptin, PAI-1, resistin and visfatin (immunoassay), and LH, FSH, SHBG (radioimmunoassay), glycemia, osteocalcin, and the lipid spectrum (immunoassay). According to BMI the women were divided into two groups: those with BMI up to 25 (n = 15), and those with BMI 25–30 (n = 12). The study was approved by the local Ethical Committee. The steroid hormones showed similar physiological changes during the cycles of both groups. 7β-OH-DHEA was higher during all cycle in normal weight women.17-OH pregnenolone and androstenedione were higher in the overweight women. As expected, hormones associated with food intake, osteocalcin and SHBG were significantly different between the two groups. Leptin levels were significantly different in overweight women, and their profile lacked the typical consistent changes during the menstrual cycle. In contrast, while the adiponectin profile was similar in both groups, the levels of adiponectin were significantly higher in the overweight women.

Our study confirmed differences in the levels of certain hormones in overweight women during the menstrual cycle. These results should help improve our understanding of menstrual cycle problems that can occur in women after their weight increases.