Anteroposterior diameter of the infrarenal abdominal aorta is higher in women with polycystic ovary syndrome

Abstract

Background: Women affected by polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) are known to be at higher risk of cardiovascular disease. The aim of this study was to identify the artery that first is affected by early pre-atherosclerotic changes in PCOS. Methods: Twenty-nine women with PCOS aged 17 to 27 years and 26 healthy nonhyperandrogenic volunteers with regular menses (control women) aged 16 to 28 years were enrolled. All PCOS patients were overweight or obese (body mass index [BMI]  25). Diagnosis of PCOS was performed in line with the 2003 Rotterdam ESHRE/ASRM-Sponsored PCOS Consensus Workshop Group. Accordingly, PCOS was defined when at least two of the following three features were present after exclusion of other etiologies: 1) oligomenorrhea and or anovulation; 2) hyperandrogenism and/or hyperandrogenemia; and 3) polycystic ovaries visible at ultrasound. Androgen excess or related disorders were excluded. The intima-media thickness (IMT) of common carotid arteries and common femoral arteries and the anteroposterior diameter of the infrarenal abdominal aorta were measured by ultrasound. Lutenizing hormone (LH), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), estradiol, total testosterone, androstenedione, and sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) serum levels were measured between the 3rd and the 6th day of spontaneous or progestin-induced menstrual cycle. Our study was performed in the absence of any medical treatment. Results: Women with PCOS showed a higher LH to FSH ratio (p  0.01), increased fasting insulin (p  0.001), total testosterone (p  0.001), and androstenedione (p  0.001) levels, and lower SHBG concentrations (p  0.001) compared to control women. BMI and waist-to-hip ratio were also higher in women with PCOS (p  0.000 and p  0.001, respectively). Women with PCOS also showed increased total cholesterol (p  0.001), triglyceride (p  0.001), and apolipoprotein B (p  0.001) levels. Vascular data showed women with PCOS had a higher anteroposterior diameter than control women (p  0.005). However, when analysis of covariance was performed and BMI was entered into the model as a covariate, anteroposterior diameter did not maintain a significant association with PCOS. Conclusion: This study shows that anteroposterior diameter of the infrarenal abdominal aorta, but not IMT of common carotid arteries or common femoral arteries, is higher in women with PCOS than in women without this disease. This represents the earliest atherosclerotic change in women with PCOS. However, this alteration seems to be due to body weight secondary to PCOS and not due to PCOS per se.

Hypertension Predisposition and Thermoregulation Delays in Adolescents with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome: A Pilot Study

“…Our observations are in agreement with previous findings in adolescents with PCOS [53][54][55][56]. High IMT values in PCOS were reported in women in early adulthood (associated with decreased sex hormone-binding globulin) [57] and adulthood [58][59][60][61][62][63][64][65] in obese women [50,66,67] and patients with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis [68]. Our study participants were adolescent and young adult women with PCOS and proper controls matched for BMI, so as to overcome the strong confounding associations of age and BMI with arterial thickness in PCOS [68].…”

Predictive value of ovarian stroma measurement for cardiovascular risk in polycyctic ovary syndrome: a case control study

“…All these results confirm several studies showing that young PCOS women have an adverse cardiovascular risk profile, and a higher cardiovascular risk [ 19 , 20 ]. Previous studies had clearly shown an association between PCOS and carotid intima-media thickness [ 21 ] or anteroposterior diameter of infrarenal abdominal aorta [ 22 ]. Moreover, other studies had shown a correlation between PCOS and serum markers of atherosclerosis such as CRP [ 23 ], interleukin-18 [ 24 ], homocysteine [ 25 ], and endothelial dysfunction [ 26 , 27 ].…”

Multidetector computed tomographic angiography evaluation of micropig major systemic vessels for xenotransplantation

“…There was no common iliac artery corresponding to that of humans, which arises from the aorta and branches off into the external and internal iliac arteries. Although differences in vascular diameter, morphology, and branching pattern between micropigs and human [ 2 , 19 , 25 , 30 , 39 ] can be overcome with modern surgical techniques at the time of transplantation, there is the possibility that the function of the related micropig organs could be compromised in human systems following transplantation. Thus, further studies are needed to evaluate and compare micropig organ function with that of humans.…”