Table 1.
Baseline characteristics of study participants.
| Control | PCOS | p | Normo PCOS | Hyper PCOS | p | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| N | 20 | 42 | 23 | 19 | ||
| Age | 27 (7.5) | 27 (6.3) | NS | 29 (7) | 27 (6) | NS |
| Height (cm) | 166.9 ± 6 | 169.5 ± 6.1 | NS | 171.2 ± 6.4 | 167.3 ± 5.2 | NS |
| Weight (kg) | 71.3 (23.8) | 72.3 (18.1) | NS | 71.6 (15) | 75 (16.2) | NS |
| Body Mass Index (kg/m2) | 25.0 (6.9) | 24.4 (5.9) | NS | 23.8 (4.7) | 28.4 (6.2) | NS |
| Waist-to-hip ratio | 0.8 ± 0.1 | 0.8 ± 0.1 | NS | 0.8 ± 0.1 | 0.8 ± 0.1 | NS |
| Ferriman–Gallwey (FG) score | 1.0 (1.0) | 4.0 (6.3) | <0.01 | 4.0 (6.0) | 5.0 (6.0) | <0.01a,b |
| Total testosterone (T) (nmol/L) | 1.1 (0.5) | 2.4 (1.5) | <0.01 | 1.9 (1.1) | 3.7 (2.3) | <0.01a,b,c |
| Free testosterone (T) (nmol/L) | 0.014 (0.005) | 0.025 (0.045) | <0.01 | 0.020 (0.006) | 0.066 (0.018) | <0.05a,b,c |
| Sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) (nmol/L) | 71.0 (36.3) | 65.5 (55.8) | NS | 88.0 (53) | 46.0 (36) | <0.01a,c |
| Androstenedione (nmol/L) | 4.4 (2.5) | 7.7 (4.5) | <0.01 | 5.4 (2.5) | 10.1 (4.3) | <0.01a,b,c |
| Dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS) (nmol/L) | 5,291 ± 1,949 | 5,959 ± 2,473 | NS | 4,642 ± 1,644 | 7,554 ± 2,393 | <0.01a,c |
| Follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) (IU/L) | 6.3 ± 1.9 | 5.6 ± 1.7 | NS | 5.7 ± 1.9 | 5.4 ± 1.5 | NS |
| Luteinizing hormone (LH) (IU/L) | 5 (3.8) | 11.6 (5.9) | <0.01 | 10.8 (6.6) | 12 (6.3) | <0.01a,b |
| Estradiol (nmol/L) | 0.19 (0.04) | 0.2 (0.03) | NS | 0.2 (0.12) | 0.2 (0.01) | NS |
| Prolactin (mIU/L) | 212.0 (132) | 212.0 (135) | NS | 237.0 (141) | 209.0 (118) | NS |
| Thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) | 1.8 (1.2) | 1.7 (1) | NS | 1.7 (0.7) | 1.5 (1.2) | NS |
| Alanine transaminase (ALAT) (u/L) | 15.5 (10) | 18 (16.5) | NS | 17 (8) | 22 (19) | NS |
| Fasting plasma glucose (mmol/L) | 5.0 (0.5) | 5.1 (0.5) | NS | 5.1 (0.4) | 5.2 (0.6) | NS |
| Fasting serum insulin (mU/L) | 7.7 (5.5) | 6.9 (8.1) | NS | 6.2 (5.6) | 8.8 (8.8) | <0.01c |
| Fasting plasma C-peptide (pmol/L) | 605(260) | 560 (390) | NS | 470 (270) | 680 (390) | <0.05a,c |
| HOMA-IR (mU·mmol·L−2) | 1.8 (1.3) | 1.5 (1.9) | NS | 1.3 (1.5) | 2.1 (2.1) | <0.01c |
| Total cholesterol (mmol/L) | 4.4 (1.1) | 4.3 (0.9) | NS | 4.4 (1.3) | 4.3 (0.7) | NS |
| LDL cholesterol (mmol/L) | 2.6 ± 0.8 | 2.4 ± 0.7 | NS | 2.5 ± 0.7 | 2.4 ± 0.7 | NS |
| HDL cholesterol (mmol/L) | 1.6 (0.4) | 1.5 (0.5) | NS | 1.6 (0.5) | 1.4 (0.4) | <0.05a,c |
| Triglycerides (mmol/L) | 0.6 (0.2) | 0.7 (0.5) | NS | 0.6 (0.3) | 1.0 (0.8) | <0.05a,c |
| Metabolic syndrome (yes/no) | 1/20 | 7/35 | NS | 1/22 | 6/13 | <0.05# |
Baseline characteristics of the study participants. Data presented as mean ± SD or as median (interquartile range) if not normally distributed. Biochemical hyperandrogenic (Hyper) and normoandrogenic (Normo) PCOS patients were defined based on a free T level above or below 0.034 nmol/L, respectively. HOMA-IR, homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance; HDL, high-density lipoprotein; LDL, low-density lipoprotein; NS, not significant.
Significant difference between hyperandrogenic patients and Controls after Tukey post-hoc.
Significant difference between normoandrogenic patients and Controls after Tukey post-hoc.
Significant difference between hyperandrogenic patients and normoandrogenic after Tukey post-hoc.
Significant difference between hyperandrogenic patients and both normoandrogenic PCOS women and Controls after Fisher's Exact test. P < 0.05 were consider significant.