A Comparative Study of Serum Adiponectin and Insulin Resistance In Patients With Polycystic Ovary Syndrome

Objective: To assess correlation between serum adiponectin levels and insulin resistance in patients with Polycystic ovary syndrome. Study Design: Comparative Cross-Sectional study. Place and Duration of Study: PNS Hafeez Hospital, Islamabad Pakistan, and Multidisciplinary Lab-I, Department of Biochemistry, Army Medical College Rawalpindi, Pakistan from Feb 2018 to Jan 2019. Methodology: Three groups (35 females each) were formed from selected one hundred and five females (puberty till 25 years) who had Polycystic ovary syndrome. After overnight fast, blood samples were collected to measure serum levels of insulin and adiponectin. Homeostatic Model Assessment of Insulin Resistance (HOMA-IR) was used to calculate insulin resistance. Results: The over-weight PCOS subgroup displayed lowest serum adiponectin level (8.73±2.13 mg/L; 13.87±3.60 mg/L in normal weight PCOS and 15.09±3.07 mg/L in controls). There was statistical significance of serum Fasting Blood Glucose (mmol/L, p=0.002), serum Insulin (mIU/L; p=0.003) andserum Adiponectin levels (mg/L; p˂0.001) and HOMA-IR (p<0.001) among three groups. The over-weight PCOS subgroup presented with highest HOMA-IR (1.71±0.19; 1.35±0.25 in normal weight PCOS subgroup and 1.12±0.26 in controls). There is negative correlation between serum adiponectin and HOMA-IR with r= -0.46. Conclusion: In PCOS-affected females, HOMA-IR correlates inversely with serum adiponectin levels, signifying that abdominal adiposity indirectly favors insulin resistance in PCOS through decrease in adiponectin secretion. Serum adiponectin level is negatively associated with severity of IR in PCOS.