The prevalence of polycystic ovarian syndrome, metabolic abnormalities and its association with obesity in adolescents: a cross sectional study in an urban population in Iran

The diagnosis of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and metabolic syndrome (MS) in adolescents is clinically challenging. It is on the rise as consistent with the increasing trends in obesity rates. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of PCOS in adolescents by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) criteria and compare the prevalence of insulin resistance (IR) and metabolic syndrome (MS) between obese (OB) and non-obese (NOB) adolescents with PCOS. This was cross-sectional research with multi-stage cluster random sampling. Participants were 15-18-year-old girls from high schools in Semnan, Iran. The ones who had a history of menstrual dysfunction underwent clinical and hormonal tests. From among a total of 900 participants, 74 girls (8.2%) had a history of menstrual dysfunction. The prevalence of PCOS was 6.44% by NIH criteria. The prevalence of abnormal glucose metabolism, MS, and IR in girls with PCOS were 8(13.7%), 6(10.3%), 24(41.4%), respectively. The OB-PCOS group with a mean BMI of 28.21±1.26 kg/m2 had a significantly greater prevalence of MS, high BP, waist circumference ≥88 cm, and higher IR than NOB-PCOS cases with a mean BMI of 20.54±2.97 kg/m2. Abnormal glucose metabolism was prevalent in adolescents with PCOS and occurred with equal frequency in OB and NOB PCOS groups. Obesity could worsen IR, MS, and some of the components of Mets in PCOS adolescents.