Increased masked hypertension prevalence in patients with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common disorder with important clinical consequences. Many studies have proven that hypertension is one of the most important comorbid disorders in PCOS. Masked hypertension is defined as a presence of normal office blood pressure together with abnormal results in 24-h ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM). The prevalence of this condition in patients with PCOS is not well defined. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of masked hypertension in PCOS compared to control subjects.

Sixty patients with PCOS and 60 control subjects were enrolled in the study. All patients with PCOS and controls without a history of hypertension underwent physical examination including office blood pressure measurement, ABPM, and measurement of laboratory and anthropometric parameters.

Mean age was 30.5 ± 6.6 in control group and 26.4 ± 7.1 year in patients with PCOS (p = .001). Twenty-four patients (40%) had masked hypertension in PCOS group whereas 11 patients (18.3%) in the control group (p = .009). Twenty-four-hour diastolic blood pressure (p = .03), daytime systolic (p < .001), and daytime diastolic blood pressure (p = .01) and nighttime systolic blood pressure (p = .01) were significantly higher in patients with PCOS compared with control group.

This study demonstrates increased masked hypertension prevalence in patients with PCOS. We suggest that all patients with PCOS should undergo ambulatory blood pressure monitoring for detecting masked hypertension.