Outdoor artificial light at night and reproductive endocrine and glucose homeostasis and polycystic ovary syndrome in women of reproductive age.

BACKGROUND: Artificial light at night, a well-recognized circadian clock disrupter, causes disturbances in endocrine homeostasis. However, the association of artificial light at night with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is still unknown. This study examines the effects of outdoor artificial light at night on sex hormones, glucose homeostasis markers, and PCOS prevalence in Anhui Province, China.

METHODS: We recruited 20633 women of reproductive age from Anhui Medical University Reproductive Medicine Center. PCOS was diagnosed according to Rotterdam criteria. We estimated long-term (previous year) and short-term (previous month) artificial light at night values for residential addresses using 500-meter resolution satellite imagery. We fitted multivariable models, using both linear and logistic regression, to estimate the association of artificial light at night with sex hormones, glucose homeostasis markers, and PCOS prevalence.

RESULTS: Both long-term and short-term exposure to outdoor artificial light at night were negatively associated with follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH) levels, while positively associated with testosterone, fasting insulin, HOMA-IR, and HOMA-β levels. The second-highest quintile of artificial light at night was associated with increased PCOS prevalence (OR long-term =1.4, 95% CI: 1.2,1.6); OR short-term =1.3, 95% CI: 1.1,1.5) compared to the lowest quintile. In addition, prevalence of PCOS was linearly associated with long-term exposure to artificial light at night, but non-linearly associated with short-term exposure. This association was more evident in younger, obese or overweight, moderately educated, rural women, and for the summer and fall seasons.

CONCLUSIONS: Outdoor artificial light at night may be a novel risk factor for PCOS.