Assessment of Prolactin and Insulin resistance in women with Polycystic ovarian syndrome.

Abstract

Background: Polycystic ovarian syndrome(PCOS), the most common cause of infertility, is a disorder characterized by chronic anovulation, hyperandrogenism, hyperinsulinemia, and often presence of obesity. Prolactin has been reported as a potent lipogenic and diabetogenic factor, that affecting energy balance and fuel metabolism. The present study was designed to assess serum prolactin and insulin resistance in PCOS women and to compare them with healthy women as controls. Material and Methods: A comparative study including 30 women diagnosed as PCOS and 30 age and BMI matched healthy women as controls was conducted. The age group for the study was 18-35 years. Fasting blood samples were drawn to assess serum prolactin, serum insulin, HbA1c and fasting blood sugar(FBS). Insulin resistance(IR) was calculated by homeostasis model assessment(HOMA). Body Mass Index(BMI) was also calculated. Results: A significant increase in fasting serum insulin (p<0.001) and HOMA IR (p<0.001) were found in patients with PCOS in comparison with controls. Mean BMI, prolactin, HbA1c and FBS were found elevated in the PCOS women but they were not statistically significant. No significant correlations were found between BMI, serum prolactin and serum insulin. Conclusions: The current study provides further evidence that significantly higher fasting insulin and HOMA in PCOS group indicates presence of IR. IR in PCOS group may have a potential role in the prediction of dysglycemic disease in women with PCOS. We could not find any significant correlation between serum prolactin, serum insulin and BMI because our study consisted of a limited number of PCOS subjects.