Biochemical Evidence of Overweight, Androgen Excess and Hyperinsulinaemia in Women with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome in Nauth, Nnewi, Nigeria

Background: Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) is the most frequent androgen disorder of ovarianfunction. This was a cross-sectional study designed to evaluate the levels of sex hormone-binding globulin(SHBG), fasting insulin and some select androgens in women with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) inNnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital (NAUTH), Nnewi, Nigeria.Materials and Methods: Seventy four (74) women aged between 18-40 years were conveniently selected.37 of them attending the gynecological clinic were diagnosed with PCOS based on the Rotterdamcriteria. The remaining 37 participants were apparently healthy hospital staff recruited as control. Bloodsample was collected from all the participants for determination of SHBG, fasting insulin, testosterone,dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEA-S) and estradiol (E2) levels using standard laboratory methods.Results: Fasting insulin, testosterone, DHEA-S in participants with PCOS were significantly highercompared with their corresponding control participants (p = 0.005, 0.001, 0.001 respectively), while SHBGin participants with PCOS was significantly lower compared with the control participants (p = 0.002). Bodymass index (BMI) and free androgen index ratio (FAI) were significantly higher in participants with PCOScompared with their corresponding controls (p = 0.043, 0.001). Waste/hip ratio showed a strong negativecorrelation with levels of SHBG and E2 in participants with PCOS (p = 0.025, 0.015, r = -0.368, 0.397respectively), while BMI showed a strong negative correlation with E2 in participants with PCOS (r =-0.374, p = 0.023).Conclusion: Significantly higher BMI value shows evidence of obesity and or overweight in femaleparticipants with PCOS. Significantly higher levels of testosterone, DHEA-S, fasting insulin, FAI, withlower SHBG suggests androgen excess and hyperinsulinemia which may subsequently predispose thewomen to type II diabetes.