Association between metabolic syndrome and polycystic ovary syndrome among adolescents: A review article

Background: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a complex reproductive endocrinology disease, affecting 5-20% of both the adolescent and reproductive women. This syndrome has significant clinical consequences associated with reproductive, metabolic and psychological problems. Some PCOS and metabolic syndrome female phenotypes share common characteristics. Metabolic syndrome has increased worldwide. The current epidemic of childhood and adolescence obesity may increase the risk of PCOS and metabolic syndrome and its complications in lower ages.Objective: The aim of this review article was study of association between metabolic syndrome and polycystic ovary syndrome among adolescents.Materials and Methods: For this purpose, 54 initial articles obtained and 34 articles from 2006 to 2018 were reviewed with the keywords of polycystic ovary syndrome, metabolic syndrome, adolescents and childhood obesity in PubMed, Google Scholar, Science Direct and Springer Link.Results: In the majority of studies, method was descriptive-correlational and analytical-cohort study and 7 review articles. These papers had explained about characteristics of polycystic ovary syndrome in adolescents and its relationship between metabolic syndrome, that according to, Body mass index at adrenarche is an important risk factor for development of insulin resistance in pubertal ages. Hormonal fluctuations which lead to metabolic changes during transition to adolescence may mimic the features of metabolic syndrome. Adolescents with PCOS are at higher risk for comorbidities such as metabolic syndrome and its components. Although many studies have shown central obesity is associated with hyperandrogenism, results of some studies indicate that hyperandrogenism and its associated parameters are significantly associated with metabolic syndrome in non-obese PCOS patients, whereas this association was not observed in obese patients. So hyperandrogenaemia is a risk factor for metabolic syndrome independent of obesity and insulin resistance. Unlike obese adults, PCOS and its individual components were not associated with metabolic syndrome in the untreated morbidly obese adolescent population.Conclusion: It seems that PCOS phenotypes cannot be used to predict metabolic disorders, so all adolescents with PCOS should be fully evaluated to determine baseline metabolic parameters on their first visit independently of their BMI.

Keywords:

Polycystic ovary syndrome , Metabolic syndrome , Adolescents , Childhood obesity