Metabolic Phenotype in the Brothers of Women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome

  1. Susan Sam, MD*,
  2. Andrea D Coviello, MD†,
  3. Yeon-Ah Sung, MD‡,
  4. Richard S Legro, MD§ and
  5. Andrea Dunaif, MD (a-dunaif{at}northwestern.edu)*
  1. *Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism and Molecular Medicine, Feinberg, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL
  2. †Section of Endocrinology, Diabetes, & Nutrition, Boston University, Boston, MA
  3. ‡Division of Endocrinology, Ewha Womans University, Seoul, Korea
  4. §Obstetrics and Gynecology, Pennsylvania State University, Hershey, PA

    Abstract

    Objective: Hyperandrogenemia, insulin resistance, and dyslipidemia demonstrate familial aggregation in the female first-degree relatives of women with PCOS suggesting that these defects are heritable. Hyperandrogenemia also appears to be the male reproductive phenotype. We performed this study to test the hypothesis that brothers of women with PCOS have similar metabolic defects to their proband sisters.

    Research Design and Methods: This was a prospective case-control study performed at four Academic Medical Centers in United States. Fasting blood was obtained from 196 Non-Hispanic White brothers of women with PCOS and 169 control men of comparable age, body mass index (BMI), and ethnicity to brothers. A separate analysis was performed by study site to assess potential regional variations in metabolic parameters.

    Results: Overall, brothers of women with PCOS had significantly higher total (P=0.001) and LDL cholesterol (P=0.01) as well as triglyceride levels (P=0.01) compared to control men, although there were regional variations in these differences. There were significant positive correlations between brothers and their sisters with PCOS for total (ρ=0.2, P=0.009) and LDL cholesterol (ρ=0.3, P=0.001) and triglyceride (ρ=0.2, P=0.05) levels. Brothers also had significantly higher fasting insulin levels and homeostatic index of insulin resistance (P=0.02 for both comparisons) compared to control men.

    Conclusions: Brothers of women with PCOS have dyslipidemia as well as evidence for insulin resistance similar to their proband sisters with PCOS. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that some metabolic abnormalities in PCOS are heritable and are not sex-specific.

    Footnotes

      • Received November 16, 2007.
      • Accepted March 3, 2008.

    This Article

    1. Published online before print March 10, 2008, doi: 10.2337/dc07-2190
    1. » Abstract
    2. Full Text (PDF)
    3. All Versions of this Article:
      1. dc07-2190v1
      2. 31/6/1237most recent

    Current Issue

    1. December 2009, 32 (12)
    1. Current Issue
    1. Alert me to new issues of Diabetes Care