Skip Navigation


Hum. Reprod. Advance Access originally published online on August 3, 2009
Human Reproduction 2009 24(11):2924-2930; doi:10.1093/humrep/dep285
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF )
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
24/11/2924    most recent
dep285v1
Right arrow Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when eLetters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Mueller, A.
Right arrow Articles by Häberle, L.
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Mueller, A.
Right arrow Articles by Häberle, L.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© The Author 2009. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Thyroid-stimulating hormone is associated with insulin resistance independently of body mass index and age in women with polycystic ovary syndrome

A. Mueller1,4,{dagger}, C. Schöfl2,{dagger}, R. Dittrich1, S. Cupisti1, P.G. Oppelt1, R.L. Schild1, M.W. Beckmann1 and L. Häberle3

1 Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Erlangen University Hospital, Universitaetsstrasse 21–23, D-91054 Erlangen, Germany 2 Division of Neuroendocrinology, Department of Neurosurgery, Erlangen University Hospital, Erlangen, Germany 3 Department of Biometry and Epidemiology, University of Erlangen–Nuremberg, Erlangen, Germany

4 Correspondence address. Tel: +49-9131-8533553; Fax: +49-9131-8533552; E-mail: andreas.mueller{at}uk-erlangen.de

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between thyroid function, reflected by thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) levels, and insulin resistance (IR) in 337 women suffering from polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).

METHODS: Clinical, metabolic and endocrine parameters were obtained and an oral glucose tolerance test was performed, with calculation of IR indices. The association between thyroid function and IR was evaluated with classification analysis using logistic regression and 10-fold cross-validation to identify a possible TSH threshold for IR. Parameters were then compared between women above and below the TSH threshold using two-sample tests. One-way analyses of covariance were performed to explore whether the impact of TSH on IR is independent of other variables.

RESULTS: A TSH cut-off value around 2 mIU/l had the best sensitivity and specificity for identifying women with IR. Women with TSH ≥ 2 mIU/l were younger, had a higher body mass index (BMI) and were more insulin-resistant compared with women with TSH < 2 mIU/l. This effect of TSH on IR was independent of age and BMI.

CONCLUSIONS: In women with PCOS, a significant association between thyroid function, as reflected by TSH ≥ 2 mIU/l, and IR was found and the association appeared to be independent of age and BMI.

Key words: thyroid-stimulating hormone/insulin resistance/hyperandrogenic syndrome/PCOS

{dagger} These authors contributed equally to the article.

Submitted on April 20, 2009; resubmitted on July 8, 2009; accepted on July 10, 2009.


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?




Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.