Serum Adiponectin Level and Clinical, Metabolic, and Hormonal Markers in Patients with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome

BACKGROUND: To investigate the relationship between adiponectin, metabolic and hor- monal parameters, and insulin resistance in patients with non-treated polycystic ovary syndrome. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this cross-sectional observational study, 81 patients admitted to out-patient clinic with complaints of menstrual irregularity, hirsutism and obesity were enrolled. Serum adiponectin, biochemical and hormonal parameters, and 75 gram oral glu- cose tolerance test (OGTT) were measured. Spearman’s correlation coefficient was used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: We observed inverse correlations between serum adiponectin level and body mass index, homeostasis model assessment insulin-resistance score, insulin level, fast- ing glucose level, and prolactin level (p=0.001, p=0.02, p=0.04, p=0.02, and p=0.005, respectively). No significant correlations were found between serum adiponectin level and age, height, weight, Ferriman-Gallwey score, 2 hours OGTT test value and free tes- tosterone level (p=0.3, p=0.6, p=0.2, p=0.8, p=0.9, and p=0.01, respectively). CONCLUSION: The present study demonstrated that in polycystic ovary syndrome patients, when serum adiponectin level decreased, degree of insulin resistance increased. Our find- ings indicate that serum adiponectin level is likely to be an adequate marker for deter- mination of the degree of insulin resistance, and may be a predictor of diseases, such as type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and metabolic syndrome, which develop on the basis of insulin resistance.