Are menstrual disorders in adolescent girls related to metabolic disorders?

Introduction: Menstrual disorders in adolescent girls are a common clinical problem. They are often accompanied by lipid and glucose metabolism disturbances. The aim of the study was to investigate to what extent the metabolic profile of adolescent girls relates to the severity of their menstrual disorders.

Material and methods: The study included 165 girls with menstrual disturbances and 49 regularly menstruating girls (REG) without clinical hyperandrogenism, matched for age and BMI. The subjects from the study group were divided into 2 subgroups: OLIGO - 111 girls with oligomenorrhea and SA - 54 girls with secondary amenorrhoea. In all girls, hormonal, lipid, and carbohydrate metabolism profiles were assessed.

Results: In the SA subgroup concentrations of total cholesterol (TC) and LDL were significantly higher than in the REG and OLIGO groups. Triglyceride (TG) concentration was also the highest in the SA group and significantly higher than in the REG group. The prevalence of lipid metabolism disorders was higher in the SA group (65%) vs. the REG (40%) and OLIGO (51%) groups. The subgroups did not differ significantly in terms of fasting and OGTT glucose and insulin as well as HOMA-IR. TyG index was significantly higher in the OLIGO and SA groups than in the REG group. BMI z-score correlated with TG, LDL, fasting and 120' OGTT glucose and insulin, HOMA-IR, and TyG and negatively with HDL. No relationship between hormonal concentration and metabolic disturbances was found.

Conclusions: Adolescent girls with menstrual disorders are insulin resistant, regardless of PCOS diagnosis. The severity of menstrual disorders may be related to the incidence of lipid disorders in adolescent girls.