Abstract

Aim:  Describe some clinical findings and biochemical characterization of a sample of Costa Rican university women with polycystic ovarian syndrome.

Methods:  Observational-descriptive study where 160 Costa Rican women between 17 and 28 years old participated. Some physical characteristics and clinical parameters (overweight, acne, hirsutism, spontaneous abortions, menstrual disorders, among others) and biochemical parameters (glucose, lipid profile, insulin, total testosterone, TSH, among others) associated with the syndrome were studied. Data was analyzed applying descriptive statistics. The t-Student test was used to compare the means of the variables with normal distribution, while the Mann-Whitney test was performed for non-parametric variables. A p value < 0.05 was considered significant. Spearman’s coefficients were used to determine the levels of correlation between the different study variables.

Results:  Women with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome presented significantly higher values in relation to women without the syndrome in the variables of weight (p = 0.003), body mass index (p < 0.001), as well as blood total testosterone concentration (p < 0.001), LDL-cholesterol (p = 0.020), triglycerides (p < 0.001) and the Castelli index (p < 0.001). HDL-cholesterol concentration (p < 0.001) was significantly higher in women without the Syndrome. In addition, there was a significantly higher proportion of women with the syndrome who had insulin resistance (p = 0.007), LH/FSH ratio > 2.8 (p = 0.009), hirsutism (p = 0.001), menstrual disorders (p=0.029) and obesity (p=0.014) compared to women without the syndrome.

Conclusions:  Hyperandrogenism, insulin resistance, altered lipid concentrations and high Castelli Indexes are the most prevalent biochemical parameters in the sample of Costa Rican women with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome. The execution of projects with broader biochemical profiles together with ultrasound tests are the new challenges for future research on Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome in Costa Rica.

Keywords: Insulin; insulin resistance; polycystic ovary syndrome; obesity.