Endocrinology: Normal serum uric acid concentrations in women with polycystic ovary syndrome

Recently, an inverse correlation between serum uric acid concentrationsand insulin sensitivity has been described in subjects withvarying degrees of metabolic syndrome, suggesting that measurementof serum uric acid may provide a simple marker of insulin resistance.Several biochemical and clinical features of polycystic ovarysyndrome (PCOS) resemble those of metabolic syndrome: womenwith PCOS are often obese; they are also at increased risk forthe development of coronary artery disease, hypertension anddiabetes mellitus. The objective of the present study was toanalyse the usefulness of serum uric acid measurement in screeningfor the metabolic syndrome in women with PCOS. For that purposeserum concentrations of uric acid, insulin and triglycerideswere measured in 38 women with PCOS and 20 weight-matched controlwomen with regular menstrual cycles. No differences were foundin the uric acid concentrations between the PCOS and controlgroups. The mean concentrations of triglycerides and fastinginsulin were higher in the women with PCOS than in the healthycontrols. Serum uric acid concentrations were inversely relatedto serum hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) concentrations, andpositively with body mass index (BMI), insulin concentrationsand testosterone:SHBG ratio in the PCOS group. Our results suggestthat measurement of serum uric acid does not provide new meansfor identification of metabolic syndrome in patients with PCOS.