Correlation between serum visfatin levels and polycystic ovary syndrome

Abstract: Objective: This study aimed to investigate the correlation between serum visfatin levels and insulin re-sistance (IR) and obesity in polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) patients. Methods: 23 PCOS patients and 15 nor-mal control subjects were included in the study. Based on body mass index (BMI), PCOS patients were further di-vided into two groups including obese PCOS group (n=8, BMI ≥ 25) and non-obese PCOS group (n=15, BMI <25). Normal controls were also divided into obese control group (n=7) and non-obese control group (n= 8). Fasting se-rum visfatin levels were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Hormone levels, fasting plasma glucose (FPG) and fasting insulin (FINS) were measured in the early follicular phase. BMI, waist-hip ratio (WHR) and insulin resistance index (HOMA-IR) were calculated. Results: (1) Serum visfatin levels were signifi-cantly higher in PCOS patient group than normal control group (P <0.05); (2) Serum visfatin levels in obese PCOS group were significantly higher than those in obese control group (P <0.05), but there was no difference in serum visfain levels between non-obese PCOS and non-obese control groups; (3) Serum visfatin levels were positively correlated to BMI, T, FPG, FINS and HOMA-IR (P <0.05). Conclusion: PCOS patients had abnormal metabolism of serum visfatin. The elevation of serum visfatin levels may be associated with obesity and IR. Visfatin was corre-lated to FINS and HOMA-IR, suggesting that serum visfatin levels can serve as predictive indicators for IR in PCOS patients.