Diabetes risk score in the diagnostic categories of polycystic ovary syndrome

To assess the Finnish Diabetes Risk Score in polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and in different phenotypes of PCOS and controls.

Cross-sectional study.

General community.

Overweight premenopausal women with National Institutes of Health (NIH) PCOS (n = 29), non-NIH PCOS (n = 25), or controls (n = 27).

No intervention provided.

Finnish Diabetes Risk Score, anthropometrics, oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT), glucose, insulin, and reproductive hormone levels.

The women with NIH PCOS had higher adiposity, abdominal adiposity and 120-minute OGTT glucose. The women with NIH and non-NIH PCOS had elevated 120-minute OGTT insulin compared with controls. The women with NIH (11.3 ± 0.7) and non-NIH PCOS (10.4 ± 0.7) had similar diabetes risk scores, but both had higher diabetes risk score compared with controls (7.6 ± 0.8) maintained on adjustment for age and body mass index (BMI). The women with NIH (4%) and non-NIH PCOS (12%) had a lower prevalence of low risk of diabetes scores compared with controls (50%).

We report for the first time that women with NIH and non-NIH PCOS have similar Finnish Diabetes Risk Scores and elevated scores relative to controls independent of age and adiposity. Similar clinical screening and treatment practices for type 2 diabetes are warranted for both phenotypes of PCOS.