Vitamin D deficiency effects on cardiovascular parameters in women with polycystic ovary syndrome: A retrospective, cross-sectional study.

PURPOSE: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is associated with vitamin D deficiency (25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D), and both are associated with increased cardiovascular risk; therefore, the combination of PCOS and moderate vitamin D deficiency may exacerbate the cardiovascular and metabolic characteristics in women with PCOS. This study sought to address this question. METHODS: In this retrospective, cross-sectional study, demographic and metabolic data from women aged 18-40 years from the Qatar Biobank (QBB) (78 diagnosed with PCOS, 641 controls) was analyzed. RESULTS: Moderate vitamin D deficiency was seen in both normal and PCOS cohorts irrespective of body mass index (BMI) stratification into normal, overweight and obese. Significant differences in free androgen index (FAI) and high density lipoproteins (HDL) (p < 0.05) were seen in PCOS irrespective of BMI, though insulin resistance and increased C-reactive protein (CRP) (p < 0.05) were seen only in obese PCOS subjects; however, there was no correlation (Pearson coefficient) of any these parameters with vitamin D for women with or without PCOS, nor when vitamin D deficiency was compared to vitamin D insufficiency (above and below 20 ng/mL, respectively) between the normal and PCOS groups. CONCLUSION: Moderate vitamin D deficiency did not associate with nor exacerbate insulin resistance, androgen levels, inflammation or cardiovascular risk indices in women with PCOS, suggesting that a prospective study on vitamin D deficiency to confirm non-causality is required.

Metabolic comparison of polycystic ovarian syndrome and control women in Middle Eastern and UK Caucasian populations.

To determine if metabolic characteristics differed in women with and without polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) between a Caucasian and Middle East population. Comparative cross-sectional analysis. Demographic and metabolic data from Middle Eastern women from Qatar Biobank (97 with PCOS, 622 controls) were compared to a Caucasian PCOS biobank in Hull UK (108 with PCOS, 69 controls). In both populations, PCOS women showed a worse cardiovascular risk profile of increased systolic and diastolic blood pressure, increased C-reactive protein (CRP), reduced HDL, insulin resistance as well as increased androgens compared to their respective controls without PCOS. UK women without PCOS had higher systolic and diastolic blood pressures, and increased testosterone results (p < 0.01) compared to Middle Eastern women without PCOS who had higher inflammatory markers (WBC and CRP), HDL and insulin resistance (p < 0.001). UK PCOS women had a higher body mass index, systolic and diastolic blood pressures, triglycerides (p < 0.01), whilst Middle Eastern PCOS women showed increased testosterone, free androgen index, HDL and CRP (P < 0.01). There was no difference in insulin or insulin resistance between the two PCOS cohorts. This study highlights ethnic population differences because, whilst cardiovascular risk indices were increased for both PCOS cohorts, this may be for different reasons: BMI, waist and hip measurements, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, and triglycerides were higher in the UK cohort whilst testosterone, HDL and CRP were higher in the Middle East population. Insulin resistance did not differ between the two PCOS populations despite differences in BMI.