Endocrinological and Metabolic Heterogeneity is low in Japanese Women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome.

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to evaluate the endocrine differences among polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) phenotypes in Japanese women.

METHODS: 118 Japanese women that we diagnosed with PCOS agreed to be included in the study. The study group was classified into the following four phenotypes: A) hyperandrogenism (HA); ovulatory disorder (OvD) and polycystic ovary morphology (PCOM); B) HA and OvD; C) HA and PCOM; and D) OvD and PCOM. We also recruited 66 healthy Japanese women to the study as control participants. Age, body mass index, androgens, luteinizing hormone, follicle-stimulating hormone, and insulin resistance index were evaluated and compared.

RESULTS: The proportions of phenotypes A, B, C, and D were 57/120 (47.5%), 4/120 (3.3%), 13/120 (10.8%), and 46/120 (38.3%), respectively. The proportion of phenotype B was too small; therefore, phenotypes A and B were grouped as classical PCOS for intergroup comparisons. The luteinizing hormone/follicle-stimulating hormone ratio in the classical PCOS group was higher than that in the phenotype D group (P < 0.001). Androgen concentrations in the phenotype D group were significantly lower than those in the other groups (P < 0.01). Phenotype D was more common in lean women with PCOS. The surrogate marker of insulin resistance (homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR)) was not different irrespective of PCOS and its phenotypes.

CONCLUSION: Except for androgens, endocrine differences by PCOS phenotype are not evident, suggesting that diversity among patients with PCOS is relatively low in Japanese women.