Leptin-to-Adiponectin, Adiponectin-to-Leptin Ratios, and Insulin Are Specific and Sensitive Markers Associated with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome: A Case–Control Study from Bahrain

Abstract

In Bahraini women with PCOS, insulin, L/A, and A/L ratios seem to be the best markers to distinguish women with and without PCOS.

Adiponectin and leptin in overweight/obese and lean women with polycystic ovary syndrome

“…We found that overweight/ obese women with or without PCOS had lower adiponectin and higher leptin levels than lean women. Our study also confirmed the findings in a previous report that the adiponectin/leptin ratio is a marker of PCOS [18]. Furthermore, our results were the first to suggest opposing roles of adiponectin and leptin in overweight/ obese and lean women with PCOS.…”

Validity of adiponectin-to-leptin and adiponectin-to-resistin ratios as predictors of polycystic ovary syndrome

“…It was proposed that the adiponectin/leptin ratio is a better inflammatory marker than adiponectin or leptin alone (42), given its high sensitivity and specificity in diagnosing metabolic syndrome, independent of BMI (43). The association of the adiponectin/leptin ratio with PCOS is in agreement with the results of a recent smaller study on Bahraini women with PCOS (34). The main difference between both studies is the magnitude of association; AUC values of 0.937 and 0.861 were reported by the study of Golbahar et al (34), compared with our 0.671 and 0.650 for insulin and adiponectin/leptin ratios, respectively.…”

“…Higher ROC AUC values, which measure test sensitivity and specificity, were recorded for adiponectin/ leptin and adiponectin/resistin ratios compared with individual adipokines including adiponectin, hence suggesting that adipokine ratios may constitute a biomarker of PCOS. This was reminiscent of an earlier study that enrolled a smaller number of women with PCOS and controls (50 per group), which reported on the superiority of adiponectin/ leptin and leptin/adiponectin ratios over adiponectin or leptin in predicting PCOS; the notable difference was in the magnitude of the association (34). This difference is likely attributable to the differences in sample size, characteristics of the study participants, and the method used for the adipokine assays.…”

“…Previous studies reported on the association between adiponectin/leptin ratio in states of IR, including T2DM, obesity (42,43), and PCOS (34). It was proposed that the adiponectin/leptin ratio is a better inflammatory marker than adiponectin or leptin alone (42), given its high sensitivity and specificity in diagnosing metabolic syndrome, independent of BMI (43).…”

“…Previous studies suggested that adipokine ratios are a stronger indicator of IR than individual adipokines (32,33), thus prompting speculation as to the utility of adipokine ratios as a measure of IR and as a marker of PCOS progression, especially in women undergoing treatment. Apart from a lone report on small number of subjects (50 women with PCOS and 50 control women) (34), the association of the adiponectin/ leptin and adiponectin/resistin ratios with PCOS had not been previously examined until our study.…”