Correlations Between Gonadotropin Hormones and the Manifestations of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome

Abstract

Background: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is the most common disease associated with chronic anovulation that affects 4 - 6% of women of reproductive age. Objectives: This study aimed to assess the correlation of luteinizing hormone (LH)/follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) ratio with body mass index (BMI), hirsutism, age, and main clinical symptoms of PCOS in women. Methods: We compared hirsutism, irregular menses, menstrual pain, LH, FSH, and LH/FSH between 400 women diagnosed with PCOS based on Rotterdam Criteria and 500 healthy controls. Moreover, the relationships between all these variables were investigated. The data were evaluated by the Mann-Whitney test, chi-square test, and correlation coefficient. Results: In this study, mean weight and BMI, as well as the percentage of clinical factors, namely hirsutism, irregular menstruation, and menstrual pain in the PCOS group, were significantly higher than in the control group (P ≤ 0.001). In addition, the mean of LH, FSH, and LH/FSH in women with PCOS was significantly higher than the control group (P≤0.001). Our results showed a significant negative relationship between age and LH/FSH in the PCOS group (r = -0.106, P = 0.034). Conclusions: According to the findings of this study, LH/FSH ratio had a significant negative correlation with age. However, no relationship was observed between LH/FSH ratio and BMI.