L. Falsetti et G. Eleftheriou, HYPERINSULINEMIA IN THE POLYCYSTIC-OVARY-SYNDROME - A CLINICAL, ENDOCRINE AND ECHOGRAPHIC STUDY IN 240 PATIENTS, Gynecological endocrinology, 10(5), 1996, pp. 319-326
In recent years numerous studies have suggested insulin to be an impor
tant regulator of ovarian function and hyperinsulinemia to be associat
ed with hyperandrogenism. An oral glucose-tolerance rest was carried o
ut in 240 women with polycystic ovary syndrome and, based on its resul
t, 142 of the women (59.2% were insulin resistant or hyperinsulinemic
and 98 (40.8% were normoinsulinemic. Compared with the normoinsulinemi
c group, the hyperinsulinemic group had a greater incidence of obesity
(52.8 vs. 21.4%), secondary amenorrhea (24.6 vs. 9.2%), androgenic sy
mptoms (85.9 vs. 67.4%) and, in particular, hirsutism with or without
acne (71.8 vs. 48.0%). Moreover, the hyperinsulinemic group had signif
icantly higher plasma levels of androstenedione, testosterone, free te
stosterone and insulin, and lower levels of luteinizing hormone, estra
diol and sex hormone-binding globulin.