Table 1.
Anthropometric, metabolic, and steroid hormone parameters in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and control women before isoflavone intervention.
| Reference Range | Controls (n = 20) | PCOS (n = 24) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Median | IQR | Median | IQR | p-Value | ||
| Age | 32 | 12.0 | 27 | 5.9 | 0.003 ** | |
| Anthropometric parameters | ||||||
| Body mass index | 18.5–25.0 # | 22.3 | 4.10 | 24.9 | 11.75 | 0.147 |
| Waist to hip ratio | <0.85 # | 0.80 | 0.06 | 0.82 | 0.077 | 0.439 |
| Metabolic parameters | ||||||
| Fasting glucose (mmol/L) | <7.0 † | 4.5 | 0.50 | 4.7 | 0.59 | 0.209 |
| AUC glucose (mmolh/L) | § | 10.2 | 4.52 | 10.9 | 3.61 | 0.273 |
| Fasting insulin (pmol/L) | 20.9–173.8 | 41.4 | 51.08 | 84.4 | 55.25 | 0.022 * |
| AUC insulin (mmolh/L) | § | 353 | 427.3 | 691 | 562.0 | 0.009 ** |
| HOMA2-IR | <2.0 | 0.8 | 1.05 | 1.7 | 1.20 | 0.027 * |
| Total cholesterol (mmol/L) | <5.2 | 4.6 | 0.64 | 4.5 | 1.13 | 0.699 |
| LDL cholesterol (mmol/L) | <3.4 | 2.3 | 0.83 | 2.3 | 1.14 | 0.144 |
| HDL cholesterol (mmol/L) | >1.0 | 2.0 | 0.42 | 1.7 | 0.49 | 0.006 ** |
| Triglycerides (mmol/L) | <1.65 | 0.59 | 0.25 | 0.74 | 0.24 | 0.010 * |
| Serum sex hormones | ||||||
| FSH (IU/L) | 0.5–61.2 ‡ | 9.2 | 8.11 | 7.5 | 2.73 | 0.178 |
| LH (IU/L) | 2.0–22.0 ‡ | 5.8 | 9.34 | 9.3 | 8.60 | 0.042 * |
| LH:FSH ratio | § | 1.2 | 1.19 | 1.5 | 1.06 | 0.035 * |
| SHBG (nmol/L) | 18–144 | 78 | 29.40 | 43 | 41.50 | <0.001 *** |
| AMH (pmol/L) | 1.4–65.2 | 26.8 | 22.42 | 61.1 | 52.59 | 0.0002 *** |
| Total testosterone (nmol/L) | 0.37–2.1 | 1.1 | 0.56 | 1.3 | 0.77 | 0.002 ** |
| DHT (nmol/L) | § | 0.34 | 0.24 | 0.46 | 0.528 | 0.096 |
| Androstenedione (nmol/L) | 0.89–7.5 | 2.6 | 1.61 | 4.2 | 2.69 | 0.0003 *** |
| DHEA (nmol/L) | § | 13.7 | 11.37 | 21.4 | 12.40 | 0.015* |
| DHEAS (µmol/L) | § | 3.3 | 3.74 | 4.9 | 2.35 | 0.073 |
| Free testosterone (pmol/L) | § | 10.6 | 5.86 | 20.9 | 13.00 | <0.0001 *** |
| Free DHT (pmol/L) | § | 1.3 | 1.03 | 3.0 | 2.19 | <0.0001 *** |
| PCOS assessment | # of cases | % of cases | # of cases | % of cases | p-value | |
| Oligo-/amenorrhea | 1 | 5 | 17 | 71 | <0.0001 *** | |
| Hirsutism | 1 | 5 | 11 | 46 | 0.003 ** | |
| PCOM | 0 | 0 | 22 | 96 | <0.0001 *** | |
| Dietary assessment | Median | IQR | Median | IQR | p-value | |
| Total points | 69 | 27.0 | 68 | 31.8 | 0.318 | |
| Grains (% of total points) | 19 | 9.4 | 17 | 8.9 | 0.025 * | |
| Dairy (% of total points) | 13 | 8.6 | 13 | 10.2 | 0.502 | |
| Meat/fish (% of total points) | 6 | 6.4 | 7 | 6.8 | 0.649 | |
| Fruits/vegetables (% of total points) | 17 | 11.4 | 19 | 12.6 | 0.856 | |
| Fats (% of total points) | 10 | 6.0 | 12 | 5.2 | 0.258 | |
| Soy (% of total points) | 1 | 1.9 | 1 | 2.5 | 0.658 | |
IQR, interquartile range; AUC, area under the curve; HOMA2-IR, homeostasis model assessment for insulin resistance; LDL, low-density lipoprotein; HDL, high-density lipoprotein; FSH, follicle-stimulating hormone; LH, luteinizing hormone; AMH, anti-Müllerian hormone; DHT, dihydrotestosterone; DHEA, dehydroepiandrosterone; SHBG, sex hormone-binding globulin; DHEAS, DHEA sulfate; PCOM, polycystic ovarian morphology. # as defined by the World Health Organization; † as defined by the American Diabetes Association; ‡ depending on menstrual cycle phase; § reference range not defined. Normally distributed data were compared using unpaired Student’s t-tests. Non-normally distributed data were either log-transformed, followed by parametric testing, or compared using Mann–Whitney U tests. Categorical data were compared using Fisher’s Exact tests. * p < 0.05; ** p < 0.01; *** p < 0.001. Adapted from [74].