Alterations of cardiometabolic risk profile in polycystic ovary syndrome: 13 years follow-up in an unselected population

Abstract

Purpose: Cardiometabolic risk factors are common in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) during reproductive years. The aim of this study was to determine the impact of aging on cardiometabolic risk of the syndrome by examining women who had previously been diagnosed to have PCOS or to be healthy in an unselected population in 2009.

Participants: Forty-one women with PCOS who were diagnosed and phenotyped according to the Rotterdam criteria and 43 age- and body mass index (BMI)-matched healthy women from the same unselected cohort.

Methods: All participants were evaluated by structured interview, physical examination, anthropometric, hormonal and biochemical measurements. Additionally, body composition analyses and echocardiographic assessments of 30 women with PCOS and 30 control women were conducted at 13 years of follow-up.

Results: There was no difference between the patient and the control groups in terms of anthropometric and body composition measures and metabolic parameters. Echocardiographic assessment showed similar systolic functions, strain measurements and epicardial fat measurements between the groups. PCOS patients still had higher levels of total testosterone, free androgen index (FAI) and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS) levels compared to controls. Epicardial fat thickness showed positive correlations with BMI, total and truncal body fat, homeostatic model assessment for insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) and free androgen index (FAI).

Conclusions: Aging women with PCOS in the population have higher androgen levels and similar cardiometabolic risk profile compared to age- and BMI-matched healthy women. Epicardial fat thickness, a marker of cardiometabolic risk, appear to be associated with hyperandrogenism. Further research is needed on larger community-based cohorts where older patients are assessed with a longer follow-up.

Keywords: Cardiovascular disease; Insulin resistance; Menopause; Metabolic risk; Polycystic ovary syndrome; Visceral fat.