Elevated serum LH and androgens in affective disorder related to the menstrual cycle: with reference to polycystic ovary syndrome

Risk of schizophrenia in patients with polycystic ovary syndrome: a nationwide population-based cohort study from Taiwan

OBJECTIVES

To investigate whether patients with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) are at increased risk for incident schizophrenia and whether PCOS treatment (clomiphene, cyproterone, or metformin) affects the incidence of schizophrenia.

METHODS

An overall of 7146 PCOS patients and 28,580 non-PCOS controls matched by age, index year, and Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) score were included between 2000 and 2012 and followed up until 2013 using a validated nationally representative sample from Taiwan. Participants newly diagnosed as schizophrenia were defined as incidents. Cox regression analysis was used to calculate the hazard ratio (HR) with a 95% confidence interval (CI) of the schizophrenia incidence rate between the two studied groups.

RESULTS

PCOS patients were at increased risk of incident schizophrenia compared to non-PCOS controls after adjusting for age, CCI score, comorbidities, and different treatment options (0.49 versus 0.09 per 1000 person-years, HR: 6.93, 95% CI: 3.25-14.7). After adjusting for above-mentioned covariates, metformin treatment had a protective effect against the incident schizophrenia compared to non-users (HR: 0.16, 95% CI: 0.06-0.41). Also, treatment with clomiphene and cyproterone had only a limited impact on the incident schizophrenia.

CONCLUSION

This study shows PCOS patients are at increased risk of incident schizophrenia, and the metformin treatment has a protective effect against incident schizophrenia.

Polycystic Ovary Syndrome in Bipolar Affective Disorder: A Hospital-based Study

BACKGROUND

Preliminary studies suggest a multidimensional relationship of mood pathology with endocrine disturbances. Studies have found an increased risk of mood disorders in polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), and conversely, many of the medications commonly used in the treatment of bipolar affective disorder (BPAD) can have deleterious effects on blood levels of reproductive hormones and consequently on the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis and reproductive function. Furthermore, there is evidence of reproductive dysfunction in women with BPAD before treatment.

OBJECTIVES

To assess the comorbidity of PCOS in patients of BPAD and to study risk factors associated with this comorbidity.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Two hundred female patients with the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4^th Edition diagnosis of BPAD, between ages of 15 and 45 years, were evaluated by an endocrinologist. Patients reporting menstrual disturbances or having any stigmata of PCOS were further subjected to hormonal analysis, which included luteinizing hormone, follicle-stimulating hormone, prolactin, and testosterone, in the early follicular phase of menstrual cycle. Diagnosis of PCOS was made as per the NIH criteria.

RESULTS

Of 200 patients, 46 (23%) were diagnosed as having PCOS. Forty-five percent (n = 90) reported menstrual disturbances while 27% (n = 54) had polycystic ovaries on ultrasonography. 19.2% of the patients diagnosed as PCOS had a history of valproate intake while 27.90% patients had no such history (P = 0.15). No significant difference (P = 0.07) was found in the prevalence of PCOS among various drug groups (including group on multiple mood stabilizers).

CONCLUSION

A higher prevalence of PCOS is seen in BPAD, irrespective of pharmacotherapy, suggesting a common link between the disorders which might be in the form of disturbance in HPG axis.

Scientific Statement on the Diagnostic Criteria, Epidemiology, Pathophysiology, and Molecular Genetics of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a heterogeneous and complex disorder that has both adverse reproductive and metabolic implications for affected women. However, there is generally poor understanding of its etiology. Varying expert-based diagnostic criteria utilize some combination of oligo-ovulation, hyperandrogenism, and the presence of polycystic ovaries. Criteria that require hyperandrogenism tend to identify a more severe reproductive and metabolic phenotype. The phenotype can vary by race and ethnicity, is difficult to define in the perimenarchal and perimenopausal period, and is exacerbated by obesity. The pathophysiology involves abnormal gonadotropin secretion from a reduced hypothalamic feedback response to circulating sex steroids, altered ovarian morphology and functional changes, and disordered insulin action in a variety of target tissues. PCOS clusters in families and both female and male relatives can show stigmata of the syndrome, including metabolic abnormalities. Genome-wide association studies have identified a number of candidate regions, although their role in contributing to PCOS is still largely unknown.