Anthropometric, clinical and biochemical comparison of the four polycystic ovarian syndrome phenotypes

Objectives: Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) phenotypes in different races and ethnicities present with various features. This study aimed to investigate the anthropometric, clinical and biochemical differences according to the four Rotterdam phenotypes of PCOS. Design: A cross-sectional study was conducted. Setting: Two private infertility clinics and a public endocrinology clinic in Rasht, Iran Subjects: One hundred and sixty one women with PCOS aged between 15 and 41 years from March 2010 to July 2012 were included. Polycystic ovarian syndrome was diagnosed by irregular menstruation (IM), polycystic ovary (PCO) and hyperandrogenism (HA). Intervention: Demographic data, and fertility features were collected and anthropometric, clinical and biochemical characteristics were measured. Main outcome measures: There were significant differences in mean levels of 17-hydroxyprogesterone (P = 0.010), luteinizing hormone (P = 0.047), and ratio of luteinizing hormone/follicle stimulation hormone (P = 0.017) among the four phenotypes. Results: Most of the subjects were categorized into the IM + PCO + HA phenotype (54%), followed by IM + HA (28%), IM + PCO (13%), and PCO + HA (5%). Among the four phenotypes, there were no significant differences in terms of demographic characters, fertility features and anthropometric measurements (P > 0.05), but there were significant differences in the prevalence of hirsutism, alopecia and morphology of PCO (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Phenotypes of PCOS in women from Rasht are similar in most anthropometric, clinical and biochemical features.