Autoimmune Processes and Chronic Inflammation as Independent Risk Factors for Metabolic Complications in Women with...

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and autoimmune thyroid disease (AITD) have a high prevalence in women of reproductive age. PCOS can lead to long-term adverse health effects such as obesity, diabetes, and increased metabolic and cardiovascular risk. Although it is known that subclinical and clinical hypothyroidism may also worsen body mass index (BMI), lipid profile, and metabolic risk, there are few studies on the impact of elevated thyroid autoantibodies alone and associated chronic inflammation on metabolic complications in women with PCOS. The main aim of the study was to assess the prevalence of AITD among Polish women with PCOS and the metabolic impact of the co-occurrence of both diseases in euthyroid individuals. The additional aim was a review of the literature on the prevalence of co-occurrence of PCOS and AITD and the metabolic consequences of this condition.

A total of 424 women aged 16-46 years were recruited into the study-230 women diagnosed with PCOS and 194 women diagnosed with PCOS and co-occurrence of euthyroid AITD. Before participating in the study, patients signed a written informed consent. The study was approved by the local ethics committee. Statistical analysis was performed using IBM SPSS Statistics (v.25). A mini-review of the literature was performed using the PubMed database.

Women with co-occurrence of PCOS and euthyroid AITD had statistically significantly higher serum levels of total cholesterol (189.57 mg/dL vs. 180.16 mg/dL; p = 0.005; d Cohen's = -0.278), LDL-cholesterol (109.80 mg/dL vs. 102.01 mg/dL; p = 0.009; d Cohen's = -0.256), and triglycerides (107.77 mg/dL vs. 96.82 mg/dL; p = 0.027; d Cohen's = -0.219) compared to women with PCOS. The difference was observed regardless of body weight. BMI was also statistically significantly higher in the PCOS-AITD group (27.55 kg/m² vs. 25.46 kg/m²; p = 0.003; d Cohen's = -0.319), as was the prevalence of obesity (32.5% vs. 20.7%; Chi-square = 7.956; p = 0.047). The mini-review of the literature did not find many studies evaluating the impact of thyroid autoantibodies on metabolic outcomes in PCOS euthyroid women, and the data are still inconclusive.

The presence of elevated serum concentrations of thyroid autoantibodies in euthyroid women with PCOS increases the risk of obesity and metabolic consequences. It is observed even in euthyroid and non-obese individuals. Consequently, the cardiovascular risk in these women may be higher than in PCOS women without elevated thyroid autoantibodies. It is important to assess thyroid autoantibodies in all women with PCOS. In euthyroid PCOS women with co-occurrence of elevated serum levels of thyroid autoantibodies, it is crucial to pay more attention to maintaining an appropriate body mass index. There is an urgent need for further studies in large groups of women assessing the impact of elevated thyroid autoantibodies alone on metabolic outcomes in euthyroid women with PCOS to confirm and clarify the results.