Autonomic and neuroendocrine responses to stress in patients with functional hypothalamic secondary amenorrhea

Objective: To evaluate the ability of women affected by functional hypothal amic secondary amenorrhea (FHSA) or polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) to ada pt to stress. Design: Controlled clinical study. Setting: University hospital. Patient(s): Thirty-one patients affected by FHSA, 29 patients with PCOS, an d 30 eumenorrheic women. Intervention(s): The subjects took the Stroop Color Word (Stroop CW) test a nd underwent blood sampling. Main Outcome Measure(s): Heart rare (HR), systolic blood pressure (SBP), di astolic blood pressure (DBP), and serum cortisol levels. Result(s): The healthy controls had better Stroop CW scores than patients w ith Fl-ISA. Serum cortisol levels significantly increased during Stroop CW with respect to the baseline in patients with FHSA or PCOS but not in the h ealthy controls. The SEP, DBP, and HR of the controls as well as SEP and DB F of patients with PCOS were significantly higher than those measured in pa tients with Fl-ISA both at the baseline and during Stroop CW. Conclusion(s): Patients with FHSA do not cope as well as healthy patients, and their autonomic response to stress is worse than both controls and pati ents with PCOS. (C) 2000 by American Society for Reproductive Medicine.