To Study Polycystic Ovary Syndrome in Taiwanese Women

Overview

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is an extremely common disorder in women of reproductive age. Diagnosis of PCOS is principally based on clinical and physical findings. Diagnostic criteria and PCOS definitions used by clinicians and researchers are almost as heterogeneous as the syndrome. Of those diagnosed with PCOS using the 2003 Rotterdam criteria, 61% fulfilled 1990 NIH criteria for unexplained hyperandrogenic chronic anovulation. The patient populations with the new phenotypes had less severe ovulatory dysfunction and less androgen excess than patients diagnosed using the 1990 NIH criteria. These findings might be common across all female populations with PCOS, whether in Oriental or Occidental countries. Data for clinical hyperandrogenism indicated that the prevalence of hirsutism in Taiwanese PCOS women is lower than that for Caucasians/Western women. The extent of metabolic abnormalities in women with PCOS may vary with phenotype, age and ethnicity. Obesity represents a major risk factor for metabolic syndrome and insulin resistance. Approximately 40-50% of all women with PCOS are overweight or obese. Obese subjects with PCOS had a higher risk of developing oligomenorrhea, amenorrhea and biochemical hyperandrogenemia than non-obese women with PCOS. Moreover, obese women with PCOS had significantly more severe insulin resistance, lower serum LH levels, and lower LH-to-FSH ratios than non-obese women with PCOS. PCOS women in Taiwan presented with higher LH-to-FSH ratio and lower insulin resistance than PCOS women in Western Countries. However, the average body mass index (BMI) was significantly lower in Taiwanese PCOS women than Western women, which might partially explain the difference between these two populations in terms of clinical and biochemical presentations. To further document the ethnic variation between women with PCOS in Taiwan and Western, the effect of obesity on the diagnosis and clinical presentations of PCOS-related syndromes should not be neglected in future studies. Therefore, the investigators plan to do this prospective study for evaluation the clinical and biochemical presentation of Taiwanese women with PCOS.

1\. Method 1. This study was approved by the Institutional Review Board of the Wan Fang Medical Center at Taipei Medical University (WF99041, approved August 2010) and performed at the Reproductive Endocrinology Clinic at the Wan Fang Medical Center from 31 August 2010 to 31 August 2011. The following women were excluded: (i) women who had been diagnosed with hyperprolactinemia, hypogonadotropic hypogonadism, premature ovarian failure, congenital adrenal hyperplasia, androgen-secreting tumor,Cushing's syndrome, disorders of the uterus and chromosomal anomalies; (ii) women who were less than three years past menarche or who were older than 45 years; (iii) women who received hormones or medication for major medical diseases (diabetes or cardiovascular disease); and (iv) women who had had ovarian cysts or ovarian tumors identified by ultrasonographic examination. 2. Statistical analysis: We used chi-squared and Fisher's exact tests to perform categorical comparisons and ANOVA to compare the continuous variables. The means of more than two groups were compared using one-way ANOVA and post hoc Dunnett's t-test with equal variances not assumed.