Insulin Resistance and Adolescent Girls with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome

Study Objectives: To estimate (1) the prevalence of insulin resistance (IR), by fasting glucose: insulin ratio (G:I < 7.0) in adolescent girls with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), (2) to compare the clinical and biochemical parameters between insulin-resistant and non-insulin resistant groups. Design: Case series. Setting: Clinic based. Participants: 49 adolescent girls with complaints of oligomenorrhoea with hirsutism and or acne. Interventions: Forty-nine adolescent girls diagnosed to have PCOS (Rotterdam 2003 criteria) were studied. Body mass index (BMI), abdominal circumference (AC), hirsutism (Ferriman Gallway score >= 6), presence of acne, acanthosis nigricans (AN) were noted in each case. Serum testosterone, sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG), fasting plasma glucose and insulin levels were measured. Free androgen index (FAI) was calculated. Results: 69.4% of these girls were found to have IR. There were no differences in age, BMI, AC, serum testosterone, FAI and fasting glucose levels between insulin resistant and non-insulin resistant girls. But there were significant differences in frequencies of hirsutism, acne, AN, and serum levels of SHBG and fasting insulin between the two groups. Conclusion: Adolescent girls with PCOS and IR are more hirsute and have more AN and lower SHBG and higher fasting insulin levels compared to non-insulin resistant girls.