Obesity as an Early Clinical Marker for Predicting Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome

Abstract

Introduction: PCOS is a heterogeneous endocrine disorder seen in women of reproductive age. It causes abnormality like polycystic ovaries, hyperandrogenism and signs of amenorrhea, oligomenorrhea, hirsutism and obesity. PCOS is significantly associated with risk factors like glucose intolerance, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, dyslipidemia and cardiovascular disease.

Aim: The aim of the study was to analyze and correlate BMI and biochemical parameters of women with PCOS and to identify the significance of BMI in early detection of PCOS among obese women.

Material & Methods: Group-I with 70 women without PCOS and Group-II comprising of 70 women with PCOS in the age group of 18-40 years were included in the present study. Blood samples from participants of both groups were assessed for biochemical parameters like FBS, T.Cholesterol, HDL and Uric acid. Anthropometric measurements such as height and weight were measured. The BMI was calculated based on the formula of weight divided by the square of height in meter. Patients with diabetes mellitus, hypertension, thyroid disorders, cardiovascular disease, Cushing’s syndrome, pregnant or lactating women and women on medication for oral contraception, hypoglycemics, lipid lowering drugs, hormonal medications within previous 6 weeks were excluded from the study.

Results: The participants of the study were 100% females in the age group of 18-40 years. Among Group-I and Group-II, there was significant positive correlation of Glucose with T.Cholesterol and HDL with p-value of <0.05. And significant positive correlation of BMI with Glucose, T.Cholesterol and HDL with p-value of <0.05 and there was no significant correlation of BMI and glucose with uric acid with p-value of >0.05.

Conclusion: Obesity seen in PCOS women indicates multiple risk factors like early onset of diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular complications. The findings of our study have indicated that there is an association of BMI with Glucose, Total cholesterol and HDL. However, the inter-relationship between BMI and biochemical parameters seen in the study indicates, overlapping and multifaceted association with PCOS. Therefore, use of cost effective parameters might prove to be risk markers in early detection of PCOS in obese women. The limitations of the study are, only few risk factors like obesity and dyslipidemia were assessed. Hence, studies with larger sample size, longer duration and follow up is essential.