EFFECT OF OBESITY ON THE CLINICAL AND HORMONAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THEPOLYCYSTIC-OVARY-SYNDROME

The polycystic ovary (PCO) syndrome is frequently associated with obes ity. That subset of women reportedly shows a much higher incidence of hirsutism and menstrual irregularities than do nonobese women with PCO syndrome. We evaluated the clinical features and hormonal profiles of 56 women with PCO syndrome and correlated them with the presence or a bsence of obesity. Thirty-eight (67.8%) of these women were obese (bod y mass index greater than or equal to 25 kg/m(2)). While presenting wi th the classic manifestations of PCO, they did not differ significantl y from the manifestations of nonobese women with PCO syndrome. Althoug h obese women with PCO had a lower incidence of oligomenorrhea as comp ared to nonobese women with PCO (57.9% vs. 83.3%, respectively) and am enorrhea was more frequent in the former group (42.1% vs. 16.6%, respe ctively), these findings ave not statistically significant. The incide nces of hirsutism and anovulatory infertility in the obese group as co mpared to the nonobese group were 81.6% vs. 77.8% and 28.9% vs. 27.8%, respectively (not statistically significantly different). The mean (/-SE) serum levels of luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle stimulating h ormone (FSH), LH/FSH ratios, prolactin and testosterone were not stati stically significantly different among the two groups. The present stu dy found that obesity is common in PCO syndrome but that there are no significant differences in the clinical and hormonal characteristics o f obese and nonobese women with it. Further studies are warranted to c larify the impact of obesity on clinical, metabolic and hormonal chang es in PCO syndrome.