Hormonal Profile of Women with Self-Reported Symptoms of Oligomenorrhea and/or Hirsutism: Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1966 Study
Open Access
- 1 January 2003
- journal article
- other
- Published by The Endocrine Society in Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism
- Vol. 88 (1), 141-147
- https://doi.org/10.1210/jc.2002-020982
Abstract
The hormonal profiles of nested female patients (n = 500) with self-reported symptoms typical of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), oligomenorrhea, and/or hirsutism and their randomly selected controls (n = 1026) at the age of 31 yr were analyzed in a general population-based Northern Finland birth cohort 1966 to find out whether the symptomatic women also have the endocrine characteristics of PCOS and could be detected in a general population using simple questions. Higher medians of serum testosterone (T) (2.10 vs. 1.90 nmol/liter, P < 0.001), LH (5.40 vs. 4.85 U/liter, P = 0.005), insulin (53.8 vs. 51.66 pmol/liter, P = 0.040), and free androgen index (FAI) (4.01 vs. 3.03, P < 0.001) and lower glucose/insulin ratio (91.1 × 108vs. 94.9 × 108, P = 0.048) and SHBG (52.4 vs. 60.7 nmol/liter, P < 0.001) were observed among the cases, but no difference was observed in cortisol and glucose levels between the cases and controls. Of all the women in the cohort, 10.2% reported only oligomenorrhea and had biochemical findings similar to the whole case group. Those who reported only hirsutism (10.4%) were in between the case and control groups according to biochemical findings. The subjects who reported both oligomenorrhea and hirsutism (3.4%) had the highest T, LH, FAI, insulin, and glucose and the lowest SHBG and glucose/insulin ratio, compared with the case group and the groups with either symptom only indicating a dose-response manner in typical endocrine profile of PCOS by adding up symptoms. The levels of T and FAI were higher and SHBG lower in groups with overweight or obesity both at 14 and 31 yr, compared with groups with normal weight at 14 yr and overweight or obesity at 31 yr. In the group with normal weight at 14 and 31 yr and the group with overweight or obesity at 14 yr but normal weight at 31 yr, the levels of T and FAI were lowest and SHBG highest. T and FAI were higher and SHBG lower among the cases than the controls in groups stratified by weight development from adolescence to adulthood. In conclusion, this longitudinal study of a large, stable population indicates that women with self-reported symptoms of hirsutism and/or oligomenorrhea show endocrine characteristics of PCOS and can be detected in a general population using simple questions. These symptoms are markers of the underlying metabolic alterations possibly associated with increased health risks in later life.Keywords
This publication has 21 references indexed in Scilit:
- Current Concepts in the Polycystic Ovary SyndromeAnnual Review of Medicine, 2001
- Evidence for Association Between Polycystic Ovary Syndrome and Premature Carotid Atherosclerosis in Middle-Aged WomenArteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology, 2000
- Hyperinsulinemia in polycystic ovary syndrome correlates with increased cardiovascular risk independent of obesityFertility and Sterility, 2000
- Impact of insulin and body mass index on metabolic and endocrine variables in polycystic ovary syndromeMetabolism, 1999
- The prevalence of polycystic ovaries in healthy womenActa Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica, 1999
- Polycystic Ovary SyndromeNew England Journal of Medicine, 1995
- The independent effects of polycystic ovary syndrome and obesity on serum concentrations of gonadotrophins and sex steroids in premenopausal womenClinical Endocrinology, 1994
- The central role of obesity (hyperinsulinemia) in the pathogenesis of the polycystic ovary syndromeAmerican Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 1989
- HETEROGENEITY OF THE POLYCYSTIC OVARY SYNDROME: CLINICAL, ENDOCRINE AND ULTRASOUND FEATURES IN 556 PATIENTSClinical Endocrinology, 1989
- POLYCYSTIC OVARIES—A COMMON FINDING IN NORMAL WOMENThe Lancet, 1988