What is the Risk of Metabolic Syndrome in Adolescents with Normal BMI who have Polycystic Ovary Syndrome?

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effect of polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) on the prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MBS) in adolescent girls with normal BMI.

Our study group consisted of 63 pubertal girls with a BMI less than 25 kg/m(2) who were referred to our center with signs of hirsutism or oligomenorrhea. The diagnosis of PCOS was based on the recent ESHRE/ASRM proposal and required that all 3 of the Rotterdam criteria for diagnosing PCOS in adolescents be met. The control group consisted of 159 pubertal girls matched for age and BMI. Glucose, insulin, testosterone, and sex hormone-binding globulin, free testosterone and all lipid parameters measured. For to diagnose the cases with MBS, modified Cook criteria were used and cases who had at least 3 of 5 criteria's were diagnosed as MBS.

Girls with PCOS had higher blood pressure parameters (systolic/diastolic) (P < .01), fasting insulin (P = .007), low-density lipoprotein (P = .017), triglyceride (P = .045), total (P < .001) and free testosterone (P = .001) levels compared to control group. There were more cases who had at least 1 Cook criterion in girls with PCOS compared to the control group but the difference was not significant. However, there were more cases who had MBS in girls with PCOS compared to the control group (P = .02).

MBS prevalence is higher in normal BMI adolescent girls with PCOS compared to age and BMI matched control group. So as clinicians, we must search for the MBS criteria's in girls with PCOS even if they have a normal BMI.