Hum. Reprod. Advance Access originally published online on March 25, 2004
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Human Reproduction, Vol. 19, No. 5, 1083-1088,
May 2004
© 2004 European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology
Prevalence of polycystic ovaries in women with self-reported symptoms of oligomenorrhoea and/or hirsutism: Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1966 Study
1 Department of Clinical Chemistry and 2 Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Oulu and Oulu University Hospital, 90014 Oulu, 3 Department of Public Health Science and General Practice, University of Oulu, 90014 Oulu, 4 Family Federation of Finland, 90220, Oulu, Finland, 5 Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Imperial College London, London W2 1PG, UK, 6 Oulu Regional Institute of Occupational Health, 90220 Oulu, Finland, 7 Institute of Reproductive and Developmental Biology, Imperial College London, London W12 0NN and 8 Oxford Centre for Diabetes, Endocrinology & Metabolism, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 7LJ, UK and Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 7BN, UK
9 To whom correspondence should be addressed at: Department of Clinical Chemistry, University of Oulu, PL 5000, 90014 University of Oulu, Finland. e-mail: saara.taponen{at}mail.suomi.net
BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of polycystic ovaries (PCO) among women with self-reported oligomenorrhoea and/or hirsutism and to see whether women with symptoms and PCO have less favourable levels of biochemical markers than controls or women with symptoms and normal ovaries. METHODS: The ultrasonographic ovarian morphology and the hormonal and metabolic profile of female cases with self-reported symptoms typical of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) (n = 196) and asymptomatic controls (n = 67) at the age of 31 years were examined in a general population-based Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1966. RESULTS: The prevalence of PCO (37.3 versus 18.2%; P = 0.004) was significantly higher in the cases (oligomenorrhoea and/or hirsutism) than in the controls. PCO morphology was detected in 18.4% of those who reported only hirsutism, in 47.9% of those reporting only oligomenorrhoea, and in 70.4% of those reporting both symptoms. In the cases with PCO compared to (i) the controls and (ii) the cases without PCO, body mass index (P = 0.026 and P = 0.011), ovarian volume [right P = 0.001, left P = 0.208 (non-significant) and right P < 0.001, left P = 0.022], mean follicle number (P < 0.001 and P < 0.001), testosterone (P = 0.063 and P = 0.029), free androgen index (P = 0.007 and P = 0.013) and insulin (P = 0.033 and P = 0.040) were higher, and sex hormone-binding globulin (P = 0.039 and P = 0.068) and glucose:insulin ratio (P = 0.060 and P = 0.054) lower. Cases with PCO also had higher waist:hip ratio (P = 0.011), infertility rate (P = 0.005) and glucose (P = 0.045) and lower insulin-like growth factor-binding protein-1 (P = 0.012) than controls. The clinical, hormonal and metabolic characteristics did not differ significantly between cases without PCO and controls with the exception of infertility rate, which was significantly higher in the cases without PCO (26.4 vs. 10.0%; P = 0.009). CONCLUSIONS: In a general population, women with symptoms of oligomenorrhoea and/or hirsutism more often have PCO than asymptomatic women. Levels of biochemical and clinical markers in symptomatic women with PCO differed from and were less favourable than those in symptomatic women without PCO or asymptomatic women, implying an increased risk for health.
Key words: cohort/hirsutism/oligomenorrhoea/polycystic ovaries/ultrasound
CiteULike 
Connotea 
Del.icio.us What's this?
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  E. A. M. Kuijper, J. M. Vink, C. B. Lambalk, and D. I. Boomsma Prevalence of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome in Women from Opposite-Sex Twin Pairs J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab., June 1, 2009; 94(6): 1987 - 1990. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 R. Koivunen, A. Pouta, S. Franks, H. Martikainen, U. Sovio, A-L. Hartikainen, M.I. McCarthy, A. Ruokonen, A. Bloigu, M-R. Jarvelin, et al. Fecundability and spontaneous abortions in women with self-reported oligo-amenorrhea and/or hirsutism: Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1966 Study Hum. Reprod., September 1, 2008; 23(9): 2134 - 2139. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
B. O. Yildiz, E. S. Knochenhauer, and R. Azziz Impact of Obesity on the Risk for Polycystic Ovary Syndrome J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab., January 1, 2008; 93(1): 162 - 168. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
D. Dewailly, S. Catteau-Jonard, A.-C. Reyss, M. Leroy, and P. Pigny Oligoanovulation with Polycystic Ovaries But Not Overt Hyperandrogenism J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab., October 1, 2006; 91(10): 3922 - 3927. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 S. Sam, R. S. Legro, P. A. Essah, T. Apridonidze, and A. Dunaif Evidence for metabolic and reproductive phenotypes in mothers of women with polycystic ovary syndrome PNAS, May 2, 2006; 103(18): 7030 - 7035. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
B. L. Powell, L. Haddad, A. Bennett, N. Gharani, U. Sovio, C. J. Groves, K. Rush, M. J. Goh, G. S. Conway, A. Ruokonen, et al. Analysis of Multiple Data Sets Reveals No Association between the Insulin Gene Variable Number Tandem Repeat Element and Polycystic Ovary Syndrome or Related Traits J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab., May 1, 2005; 90(5): 2988 - 2993. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
R. S. Legro, P. Chiu, A. R. Kunselman, C. M. Bentley, W. C. Dodson, and A. Dunaif Polycystic Ovaries Are Common in Women with Hyperandrogenic Chronic Anovulation but Do Not Predict Metabolic or Reproductive Phenotype J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab., May 1, 2005; 90(5): 2571 - 2579. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|