Serum adiponectin level and clinical, metabolic, and hormonal markers in patients with polycystic ovary syndrome

Background: To investigate the relationship between adiponectin, metabolic and hormonal parameters, and insulin resistance in patients with non-treated polycystic ovary syndrome. Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional observational study, 81 patients admitted to out-patient clinic with complaints of menstrual irregularity, hirsutism and obesity were enrolled. Serum adiponectin, biochemical and hormonal parameters, and 75 gram oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) were measured. Spearman's correlation coefficient was used for statistical analysis. Results: We observed inverse correlations between serum adiponectin level and body mass index, homeostasis model assessment insulin-resistance score, insulin level, fasting glucose level, and prolactin level (p=0.001, p=0.02, p=0.04, p=0.02, and p=0.005, respectively). No significant correlations were found between serum adiponectin level and age, height, weight, Ferriman-Gallwey score, 2 hours OGTT test value and free testosterone level (p=0.3, p=0.6, p=0.2, p=0.8, p=0.9, and p=0.01, respectively). Conclusion: The present study demonstrated that in polycystic ovary syndrome patients, when serum adiponectin level decreased, degree of insulin resistance increased. Our findings indicate that serum adiponectin level is likely to be an adequate marker for determination of the degree of insulin resistance, and may be a predictor of diseases, such as type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and metabolic syndrome, which develop on the basis of insulin resistance.