Endothelial function in patients with polycystic ovary syndrome : a long-term follow-up study

• Objective: To investigate pulse wave reflection and endothelial-dependent vasodilatation (EDV) in PCOS patients and age-matched healthy controls. Design: Long-term follow-up study. Setting: Department of Women’s and Children’s Health, Uppsala University, Sweden. Patient(s): Sixty-seven PCOS patients with a mean age of 43.3 years at the follow-up investigation and 66 age-matched controls. Intervention: Aplanation tonometry before and after b-2 receptor agonist (terbutaline) challenge. Main outcome measure(s): Baseline augmentation index (AI) aorta, baseline AI-radial, and change in AI-radial following terbutaline administration as a measure of EDV. Result(s):  There was no difference in baseline AI-aorta between PCOS patients and control subjects. Change in AI-radial following terbutaline administration was less pronounced in PCOS patients in comparison to control subjects. This difference remained when adjusted for use of combined oral contraceptives/hormone replacement therapy and postmenopausal status but not after adjustment for BMI. Conclusion(s): Middle-aged PCOS patients display signs of endothelial dysfunction in comparison to age-matched controls, but this is largely due to the increased prevalence of independent risk factors for cardiovascular disease found in this group.

Keyword

polycystic ovary syndrome

endothelial function

endothelial-dependent vasodilation

long-term

follow-up

MEDICINE

MEDICIN

Obstetrik och gynekologi

Obstetrics and Gynaecology

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

art (subject category)