Table 1.
Characteristics of Women With PCOS and Controls Matched for Ethnicity, Age, and Body Mass Index
| Black | White | Hispanic | P Valuec | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Characteristica,b | PCOS (n=62) | Control (n=113) | PCOS (n=32) | Control (n= 54) | PCOS (n=23) | Control (n= 37) | PCOS | Control |
| Age, y | 41 (37–42) | 40 (37–43) | 41 (37–43) | 40 (38–42) | 39 (37–41) | 39 (36–41) | .32 | .12 |
| BMI, kg/m2 | 32.3 (27.6–38.0)d | 32.3 (29.1–37.7)e | 28.2 (23.4–32.6)d | 27.5 (23.4–31.5)e | 31.7 (25.9–34.0) | 30.3 (26.2–33.3) | .02 | <.001 |
| Waist:hip ratio | 0.87 (0.81–0.90) | 0.87 (0.82–0.90)e | 0.83 (0.80–0.89) | 0.83 (0.77–0.89)e | 0.86 (0.83–0.89) | 0.85 (0.81–0.90) | .47 | .006 |
| History of tobacco use, No. (%) | 21 (33.9) | 49 (43.4) | 18 (56.3) | 25 (46.3) | 8 (34.8) | 8 (21.6) | .09 | .02 |
| Total testosterone, ng/mL | 0.8 (0.7–1.0) | 0.6 (0.5–0.7) | 0.8 (0.6–1.0) | 0.6 (0.5–0.8)f | 0.8 (0.6–0.9) | 0.5 (0.4–0.7)f | .53 | .046 |
| Calculated free testosterone, pmol/L | 20.2 (16.3–30.2) | 12.8 (8.2–21.4) | 23.7 (10.4–34.6) | 11.5 (7.0–20.0) | 20.9 (11.4–32.7) | 13.2 (6.9–19.6) | .81 | .70 |
| Sex hormone-binding globulin, nmol/L | 117 (84–162) | 154 (91–201) | 101 (76–171) | 167 (101–236) | 108 (81–171) | 107 (87–184) | .81 | .19 |
| Blood pressure | ||||||||
| Systolic blood pressure, mm Hg | 127 (116–138)d | 123 (113–133)e,g | 117 (109–130)d | 118 (110–127)e | 117 (108–131) | 114 (107–122)g | .009 | .001 |
| Diastolic blood pressure, mm Hg | 81 (75–86) | 80 (74–87)e,g | 78 (73–82) | 76 (73–81)e | 73 (70–86) | 74 (70–80)g | .15 | .001 |
| Hypertension prevalence, No. (%) | 23 (37.1) | 31 (27.4) | 6 (18.8) | 2 (3.7) | 3 (13.0) | 4 (10.8) | .03 | <.001 |
| Cholesterol | ||||||||
| Total cholesterol, mg/dL | 163 (145–188)d | 161 (142–187) | 190 (149–211)d | 175 (154–190) | 171 (159–217) | 166 (148–180) | .04 | .22 |
| Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, mg/dL | 97 (78–114) | 93 (72–120) | 107 (83–135) | 105 (85–117) | 112 (86–135) | 95 (83–105) | .09 | .33 |
| High-density lipoprotein cholesterol, mg/dL | 51 (45–59) | 48 (43–58) | 51 (41–60) | 53 (42–62) | 51 (39–55) | 49 (42–54) | .59 | .35 |
| Hypercholesterolemia prevalence, No. (%) | 1 (1.6) | 9 (8.0) | 4 (12.5) | 5 (9.3) | 3 (13.0) | 1 (2.7) | .045 | .40 |
| Triglycerides | ||||||||
| Triglycerides, mg/dL | 75 (57–95) | 72 (58–102)e,g | 79 (54–179) | 84 (57–116)e | 97 (74–127) | 118 (75–157)g | .13 | .001 |
| Hypertriglyceridemia prevalence, No. (%) | 3 (4.8) | 9 (7.9) | 10 (31.3) | 5 (9.3) | 2 (8.7) | 9 (23.1) | .002 | .05 |
| Glucose metabolism | ||||||||
| Fasting glucose, mg/dL | 92 (82–101) | 88 (82–96) | 89 (80–96) | 91 (83–101) | 99 (88–110) | 93 (87–102) | .06 | .08 |
| Fasting insulin, µU/mL | 15.6 (9.4–22.0)d | 14.6 (9.1–22.4)e | 10.6 (5.8–18.1)d | 9.7 (5.6–12.1)e–f | 15.5 (10.7–21.5) | 16.4 (8.4–21.7)f | .04 | <.001 |
| Log insulin, BMI-adjustedh | 2.67 (2.52–2.82) | 2.52 (2.41–2.62) | 2.42 (2.20–2.63) | 2.39 (2.24–2.55) | 2.71 (2.46–2.95) | 2.75 (2.57–2.92) | .002i | <.001i |
| Log insulin, % body fat-adjustedh | 2.74 (2.57–2.90) | 2.59 (2.48–2.70) | 2.33 (2.10–2.56) | 2.29 (2.13–2.45) | 2.64 (2.37–2.91) | 2.66 (2.48–2.85) | .004i | <.001i |
| Log insulin, lean mass adjustedh | 2.64 (2.47–2.80) | 2.49 (2.38–2.61) | 2.35 (2.13–2.58) | 2.31 (2.15–2.47) | 2.87 (2.60–3.14) | 2.91 (2.72–3.11) | .003i | <.001i |
| Homeostasis model of insulin resistance | 3.3 (2.1–5.0)j | 3.1 (1.8–5.0) | 2.6 (1.1–4.1) | 2.1 (1.2–3.7)f | 3.8 (2.9–5.4)j | 3.9 (1.7–5.0)f | .08 | .005 |
| Impaired fasting glucose prevalence, No. (%) | 4/57 (7.0)j | 5/103 (4.9) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 4/21 (19.1)j | 2/34 (5.9) | .03 | .02 |
| Type 2 diabetes mellitus prevalence, No. (%) | 5 (8.1) | 10 (8.9) | 4 (12.5) | 6 (11.1) | 2 (8.7) | 3 (8.1) | .79 | .86 |
| Metabolic syndrome prevalence, No. (%) | 23 (37.1) | 41 (36.0) | 11 (34.4) | 12 (22.2) | 9 (39.1) | 13 (33.3) | .94 | .19 |
Abbreviations: BMI, body mass index; PCOS, polycystic ovarian syndrome.
Results are presented as median (interquartile range) unless otherwise indicated.
The conversion factors from conventional or metric units to Système International units are as follows: low-density lipoprotein, high-density lipoprotein, and total cholesterol, multiply by 0.0259 (mmol/L); triglycerides, multiply by 0.0113 (mmol/L,); glucose, multiply by 0.0555 (mmol/L); insulin, multiply by 6.945 (pmol/L); total testosterone, multiply by 0.0347 (nmol/L).
P values for the Kruskal-Wallis test comparing medians among ethnic groups within a diagnostic category (PCOS or control) or the likelihood ratio χ2 from the Cochran Mantel Haentzel χ2 test comparing ethnic differences in the prevalence of risk factors within a diagnostic category (PCOS or control).
P<.05 when comparing blacks and whites with PCOS.
P<.05 when comparing black and white controls.
P<.05 when comparing white and Hispanic controls.
P<.05 when comparing black and Hispanic controls.
Results presented as least-squares mean (95% CI).
Generalized linear model, significance of ethnicity adjusted for body size variable.
P<.05 when comparing blacks and Hispanics with PCOS.