Comparison Of Measures Of Arterial Stiffness Between Women With And Without Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome

Comparison of Measures of Arterial Stiffness Between Women with and without Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) is a hormonal syndrome with its etiology lying in the endocrine system. One of the dominant characteristics of PCOS is hyperandrogenism, which may lead to increased arterial stiffness (AS) in women, increasing cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to compare measures of arterial stiffness between women with and without polycystic ovarian syndrome. METHODS: Participants (n = 11; 5 with PCOS and 6 without) were 20.90 ± 1.92 (M ± SD) years and had an average BMI of 31.58 ± 7.73 kg/m2, with no significant difference in BMI or age by PCOS status. Participants were asked to refrain from exercise for 48 hours and a 12 hour fast prior to study assessments. Pulse wave velocity (PWV), augmentation index (Alx), and central systolic blood pressure (CSBP) were used to measure arterial stiffness with the SphygmoCor device (AtCor Medical Manufacturing Co.; Sydney, Australia). Given the non-normal distribution of data, differences in study outcomes between women with and without PCOS were determined using Mann-Whitney U tests. RESULTS: There was no significant difference between women with and without PCOS in pulse wave velocity (M [25th, 75th]; 6.7 [5.1, 8.3]m/s vs. 4.6 [3.6, 5.6]m/s; p = 0.13), augmentation index (14.0 [11.0, 17.0] % vs.7.5 [0.5, 14.5]%; p = 0.13), and central systolic blood pressure (114.0 [103.5, 124.5]mmHg vs. 104.5 [101.0, 108.0]mmHg; p = 0.54), respectively. CONCLUSION: While our study did not detect significant differences in arterial stiffness between young women with and without PCOS, further investigation is warranted in a larger sample and across a wider age range to determine if and when disparities in CVD risk may present.