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Adipose insulin resistance is associated with cardiovascular risk factors in polycystic ovary syndrome

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Abstract

Purpose

The effects of adipose insulin resistance on cardiovascular risk factors in polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) remain largely unknown. We aimed to investigate associations between adipose insulin resistance and cardiovascular risk factors in PCOS.

Methods

A total of 207 PCOS and 47 non-PCOS women were recruited from a large reproductive medicine center in this cross-sectional study. The PCOS diagnosis was based on the Rotterdam Criteria. The subjects received a standard oral glucose tolerance test. Adipose insulin resistance was evaluated using a validated index (adipose-IR = fasting insulin × free fatty acid concentrations).

Results

The women with PCOS showed a higher adipose-IR index, and the adipose-IR index was tightly associated with the blood pressure, glucose and lipid parameters. A total of 98.0% of the women with PCOS in the highest adipose-IR quartile showed cardiovascular risk factors (obesity, hypertension, glucose intolerance or dyslipidemia), and this percentage was significantly higher than the percentage of those in the lowest quartile (32.7%). In addition, the percentages of women with three (31.4%) and four (13.7%) cardiovascular risk factors were significantly elevated in the highest adipose-IR quartile. The multivariable logistic regression analysis indicated that each 1-SD increment in the adipose-IR index resulted in higher risks of obesity (OR = 3.18, 95% CI = 2.12–4.76), hypertension (OR = 1.89, 95% CI = 1.31–2.73), glucose intolerance (OR = 2.45, 95% CI = 1.73–3.48), and dyslipidemia (OR = 2.18, 95% CI = 1.57–3.01). The C-reactive protein (CRP) level was positively associated with the adipose-IR index in women with PCOS (r = 0.45, P < 0.001).

Conclusions

The adipose-IR index was associated with cardiovascular risk factors in women with PCOS. Chronic inflammation may induce insulin resistance in the adipose tissue of women with PCOS.

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Funding

This study was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2017YFC1001003, 2016YFC1000201) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (81671419, 81471427).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Center for Reproductive Medicine, Peking University Third Hospital, No. 49 North HuaYuan Road, HaiDian District, Bei**g, 100191, China

    L. Mu, R. Li, Y. Lai, Y. Zhao & J. Qiao

  2. National Clinical Research Center for Obstetrics and Gynecology, Bei**g, 100191, China

    L. Mu, R. Li, Y. Zhao & J. Qiao

  3. Bei**g Key Laboratory of Reproductive Endocrinology and Assisted Reproductive Technology, Bei**g, 100191, China

    L. Mu, R. Li & J. Qiao

  4. Key Laboratory of Assisted Reproduction, Ministry of Education, Bei**g, 100191, China

    L. Mu, Y. Zhao & J. Qiao

  5. Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences, Peking University, Bei**g, 100871, China

    Y. Lai & J. Qiao

Authors
  1. L. Mu
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Correspondence to Y. Zhao.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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This article does not contain any studies with animals performed by any of the authors.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Mu, L., Li, R., Lai, Y. et al. Adipose insulin resistance is associated with cardiovascular risk factors in polycystic ovary syndrome. J Endocrinol Invest 42, 541–548 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40618-018-0949-2

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