Association of Insulin Resistance, Obesity and Menstrual Irregularities in Women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome: A Clinical Study
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.53350/Annalspakmed.2.1.26Keywords:
Polycystic ovary syndrome; Insulin resistance; Obesity; Menstrual irregularities; HOMA-IR; Ovulatory dysfunctionAbstract
Background: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a widespread endocrine and metabolic condition in women of childbearing age and is often linked with insulin resistance, obesity and menstrual problems. Such metabolic imbalances can have far-reaching effects on the reproductive health and ovulatory activity of the affected women.
Objective: To establish the relationship between insulin resistance and obesity with menstrual abnormalities among women diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome.
Methods: It was cross-sectional clinical research in the Department of Gynecology and obstetrics in liaison with the Department of biochemistry at a tertiary care hospital between February 2024 and April 2025. A total of 90 women between the ages of 18 and 35 years diagnosed with PCOS based on the Rotterdam criteria were used. Clinical history, anthropometric data and menstrual patterns were taken. Assessed variables included body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, fasting blood glucose, fasting insulin and Homeostatic Model Assessment of Insulin Resistance (HOMA-IR). The menstruation patterns were identified as regular cycles, oligomenorrhea, amenorrhea, polymenorrhea, and irregular cycles. The SPSS version 26 was used to analyze the data.
Results: The menstrual abnormalities could be found in 77.8 percent of the participants, and oligomenorrhea was the most frequent anomaly. Women with irregular menstrual cycles showed considerably higher values of BMI, waist circumference, fasting insulin and HOMA-IR compared to women with regular menstrual cycles (p<0.05). Women with menstrual abnormalities were 77.1% insulin resistant in comparison to 35.0% of women with normal cycles. The analysis conducted using logistic regression demonstrated that the BMI and HOMA-IR were important independent predictors of menstrual irregularities.
Conclusion: Menstrual abnormalities among women with PCOS have a strong relationship with insulin resistance and obesity. Early metabolic screening and treatment could be used to enhance reproductive and menstrual outcomes in this group.
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