Arterial hypertension and metabolic profile in patients with polycystic ovary syndrome

To evaluate parameters related with arterial pressure and metabolic profile in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (POS).

This monocentric study at the University Hospital Endocrinology Section included 60 women aged 18-45 years, 42 being diagnosed with POS and acting as 18 controls. All women were subjected to transvaginal ultrasound and monitored for arterial pressure for 24 h in the ambulatory (MAP). Venous blood samples were taken between 07.00 and 09.00, after 12 h fasting. Basal (BG) and fasting glucose concentrations, total cholesterol and its fractions, triglycerides and insulin (to calculate the homeostatic assay insulin-resistance, HOMA-IR) were measured. Collected data were the mean arterial blood pressure (24-h awake/sleep cycle), arterial pressure nocturnal descensus, glycemia and fasting glucose for HOMA-IR, and lipid profile. The Student's t test was used to compare homogeneous variables; the Mann-Whitney test was used to compare non-homogeneous variables; the Pearson's correlation coefficient was used to search for correlation between the variables. The χ(2) test was used for comparison of the absence of nocturnal descensus. Significance was taken as p<0.05.

The mean age of the patients with POS was 27.4 ± 5.5 (18-45 years, n=42) and the body mass index (BMI) was 30.2 ± 6.5 kg/m(2) (18.3-54.9). In the Control Group, the mean age was 31.4 ± 6.1 (18-45 years) and the BMI was 27.1 ± 6.2 kg/m(2) (18.3-54.9, n=18). No difference in the metabolic parameters and insulin resistance was observed between the two groups. Comparison between these parameters and MAP showed that the only parameter with a correlation was the BMI, independent of the POS diagnosis. This was not seen in nocturnal descensus, which was uncorrelated with POS and any of the other studied parameters.

POS women do not show higher arterial blood pressure, glycemia, HDL-col, TG, HOMA-IR and BMI compared to non-POS women. However, POS patients showed correlation between arterial pressure and BMI, suggesting that obesity is a primary factor involved in arterial pressure changes in these patients.