Association of Body Mass Index and Insulin Resistance with Clinical Features in Women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome

Open Access

Abstract

Background: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is one of the most common endocrine disorder in women of reproductive age in the world. This study was aimed to assess the relation between body mass index (BMI) and insulin resistance (IR) with clinical characteristics in PCOS diagnosed women. Methods & Materials: The cross-sectional study was based at Department of Gynaecology and Obstetrics, Jashore Medical College, Jashore, Bangladesh from January 2024 to December 2024. Purposive sampling was used to recruit 80 women aged 18-40 years diagnosed with PCOS based on the Rotterdam criteria. Anthropometric, fasting blood glucose, fasting insulin, and HOMA-IR were measured. The clinical features were documented in a systematic manner. Data were entered and analyzed using SPSS version 26. Results: The mean age of the respondents was 25.8±4.6 years. 60% of the participants had obesity (BMI ≥25 kg/m 2) and 70% had insulin resistance (HOMA-IR ≥2.5), respectively. There was an incidence of 77.5% irregular menstrual cycles, 65.0% hirsutism and 76.3% polycystic ovaries on ultrasound. Oligomenorrhea (p=0.048), hirsutism (p=0.006), acanthosis nigricans (p= 0.003), and central obesity (p<0.001) were significantly linked with higher BMI. Oligomenorrhea (p=0.021), infertility (p=0.049), hirsutism (p=0.006), acanthosis nigricans (p=0.004), and central obesity (p=0.006) were significantly related to insulin resistance. On multivariable regression, acanthosis nigricans (OR 3.54; 95% CI 1.29-9.72), hirsutism (OR 2.68; 95% CI 1.01-7.12), and BMI per unit increase (OR 1.24; 95% CI 1.08-1.43) were independent predictors of insulin resistance. Conclusion: There is a significant relationship between key clinical aspects of PCOS with BMI and insulin resistance. Metabolic derangements among PCOS patients should be identified early to achieve early intervention and avert cardiometabolic complications in the long-term.