Plasma visfatin and apelin levels in adolescents with polycystic ovary syndrome

Abstract

Background Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common endocrine disorder that usually begins during adolescence. Patients may have severe metabolic disorders.Objective To investigate the levels of visfatin and apelin in adolescent girls with PCOS and to explore the importance of visfatin and apelin in glucose and lipid metabolism.Methods A total of 88 girls (aged 12–20 years) were prospectively and consecutively recruited during two years for the PCOS group (n = 44) and the control group (n = 44). Serum visfatin, apelin and other metabolic parameters were measured. Receiver operator characteristics (ROC) curve analysis was performed to reveal the diagnostic potential.Results Visfatin, apelin and indicators of glucose and lipid-metabolism were not different for PCOS patients compared to control. However, insulin resistance (IR) in the PCOS-group was more frequent (p 0.05). ROC-curve analyses demonstrated that the optimal value of visfatin for predicting IR in PCOS-patients was 7.14 ng/mL, with 78.1% sensitivity and 68.7% specificity. In the PCOS-group, visfatin was positively correlated with high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), and negatively correlated with HOMA-IR, apolipoprotein B (Apo-B), cholesterol (CHO), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and CHO/HDL-C ratio (p 0.05).Conclusions Higher visfatin levels may prevent IR in adolescent PCOS patients, showing a positive predictive value for IR and also reflecting a beneficial effect on lipids. It is a possible protective factor at certain stages of metabolic syndrome.

Keywords

• Visfatin
• apelin
• insulin resistance
• polycystic ovary syndrome
• adolescents