Assessment of the body composition of patients with polycystic ovary syndrome using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the body composition among patients with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and patients without PCOS.

METHODS: A cross-sectional study enrolled patients aged 12-39 years, with body mass index (BMI, calculated as weight in kilograms divided by the square of height in meters) at least 18.5 but below 25, who attended the Endocrine Gynecology Clinic of Santa Casa de Sao Paulo School of Medical Sciences, Brazil, between January 1, 2014, and July 31, 2015. Anthropometric measurements, metabolic and androgenic profiles, and dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry measurements were compared between patients with PCOS and those without PCOS.

RESULTS: In total, 102 eligible patients attended the study clinical during the study period; 43 were excluded owing to not meeting the inclusion criteria or declining to undergo complete study testing, and 15 withdrew from the study. Of the 44 participants, 28 had PCOS and 16 were included in the control group. Serum 17-hydroxyprogesterone concentration (P=0.046), leg-fat (P=0.031), and truncal-fat (P=0.001) were all higher among patients with PCOS.

CONCLUSION: The present study demonstrated increased truncal and leg fat among women with PCOS. The study did not detect any difference in insulin parameters but larger studies could be more suitably powered to investigate this. CLINICALTRIALS.GOV: NCT02467751.