Assessment of hormonal homeostasis in women with abnormal uterine bleeding and chronic stress

Abstract

The objective: to study the concentration of estradiol, progesterone, follicle-stimulating and luteinizing hormones, testosterone, prolactin and cortisol in women with abnormal uterine bleeding (AUB) and of chronic psycho-emotional stress.Materials and methods. We examined 100 women of reproductive age with AUB and chronic stress (main group) and 50 patients with AUB without chronic stress (comparison group). 30 women without AUB and chronic stress were included in the control group. The AUB diagnosis was made on the basis of order No. 353 of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine dated April 13, 2016. The concentrations of estradiol, progesterone, follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH), testosterone, prolactin and cortisol were determined in blood serum in all the women in the follicular phase of the menstrual cycle using the ELISA method.Results. In patients with AUB and chronic stress, a significant decrease of estradiol by 37.50% relative to healthy women, FSH – 44.42%, LH – 22.12%, progesterone – 38.23% and a significant increase in prolactin by 41.92% and cortisol – 82.96% were established. In the patients with AUB without chronic stress a significant decrease in estradiol level by 23.95%, FSH by 22.09% and progesterone by 21.91%, and a significant increase in cortisol by 21.55% were found. The concentration of testosterone in the main group and the comparison group, as well as changes in the levels of LH and prolactin in the patients of the comparison group, were insignificant relative to the control group. Conclusions. In women of reproductive age with abnormal uterine bleeding and chronic stress, there is a significant decrease in the concentration of estradiol, progesterone, follicle-stimulating and luteinizing hormones in the blood serum, an increase of prolactin and cortisol, and the absence of significant changes in testosterone level in the follicular phase of the menstrual cycle.