Subnormal follicular-phase serum progesterone levels and elevated follicular-phase serum estradiol levels in young women with insulin-dependent diabetes.

Abstract In a search for possible hormonal reasons for the loss of protection from myocardial infarction seen in diabetic women, serum levels of estradiol, progesterone, and luteinizing hormone were compared throughout a menstrual cycle (17 points) in eight healthy nonsmoking women and five otherwise healthy nonsmoking insulin-dependent diabetic women. The total length of the menstrual cycle and the lengths of the follicular and luteal phases did not differ between the groups. During the periovulatory and lineal phases, there was no significant intergroup difference with respect to any of the three hormones. During the follicular phase, in both groups, there was a plateau in serum progesterone concentration, with the level approximately 42% lower in the diabetic group (12.0 ± 6.6 ng/dl versus 20.7 ± 5.7; P 55 :560–564, 1990)