Abstract | OBJECTIVE: DESIGN: Over a period of 30 months, 175 patients with PCOS were recruited to a prospective multicenter study to evaluate thyroid function and morphology; 168 age-matched women without PCOS were studied as a control group. METHODS: PCOS was defined as a- or oligomenorrhea, hyperandrogenism and exclusion of other disturbances of estrogen or androgen synthesis. All laboratory parameters were determined with automated immunoassays. Thyroid morphology was assessed by ultrasound. RESULTS: PCOS patients were characterized by an increased LH/FSH ratio, low progesterone, elevated testosterone and a high prevalence of hirsutism (PCOS 83%, control 3%; mean hirsutism score 12+/-5 and 3+/-2 respectively), but no differences in estrogen levels were found. Thyroid function and thyroid-specific antibody tests revealed elevated thyroperoxidase (TPO) or thyroglobulin (TG) antibodies in 14 of 168 controls (8.3%), and in 47 of 175 patients with PCOS (26.9%; P<0.001). On thyroid ultrasound, 42.3% of PCOS patients, but only 6.5% of the controls (P<0.001) had a hypoechoic tissue typical of AIT; while thyroid hormone levels were normal in all subjects, PCOS patients had a higher mean TSH level (P<0.001) and a higher incidence of TSH levels above the upper limit of normal (PCOS 10.9%, controls 1.8%; P<0.001). CONCLUSION: This prospective study demonstrates a threefold higher prevalence of AIT in patients with PCOS, correlated in part with an increased estrogen-to- progesterone ratio and characterized by early manifestation of the disease.
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Authors | Onno E Janssen, Nadine Mehlmauer, Susanne Hahn, Alexandra H Offner, Roland Gärtner |
Journal | European journal of endocrinology
(Eur J Endocrinol)
Vol. 150
Issue 3
Pg. 363-9
(Mar 2004)
ISSN: 0804-4643 [Print] England |
PMID | 15012623
(Publication Type: Journal Article, Multicenter Study)
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Chemical References |
- Blood Glucose
- Insulin
- Thyroid Hormones
- Testosterone
- Progesterone
- Estradiol
- Luteinizing Hormone
- Follicle Stimulating Hormone
- Thyrotropin
- Thyroglobulin
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Topics |
- Adult
- Blood Glucose
(metabolism)
- Estradiol
(blood)
- Female
- Follicle Stimulating Hormone
(blood)
- Humans
- Insulin
(blood)
- Luteinizing Hormone
(blood)
- Polycystic Ovary Syndrome
(blood, complications)
- Progesterone
(blood)
- Prospective Studies
- Testosterone
(blood)
- Thyroglobulin
(metabolism)
- Thyroid Hormones
(blood)
- Thyroiditis, Autoimmune
(blood, complications, diagnostic imaging)
- Thyrotropin
(blood)
- Ultrasonography
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