ESPE Abstracts

Background: Few previous studies suggested an association between insulin resistance (IR) and TSH serum levels in euthyroid patients. This relation could have some particularities in populations characterized by intrinsic insulin resistance like polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) patients.

Objective and hypotheses: The aim of our study was to study the relationship between IR and TSH serum levels in adolescent euthyroid PCOS patients.

Method: We performed a cross-sectional study on 85 adolescent PCOS patients with normal thyroid function (mean age 18.05±1.65 years, range 13–20 years, mean BMI 25.5±6.9 kg/m²) diagnosed based on Rotterdam Consensus criteria. All the patients were evaluated by clinical and hormonal exam. HOMA-IR was calculated as an index of IR and free androgen index (FAI) was calculated as an index of bioavailable testosterone. Variables with non-Gaussian distribution were log-transformed.

Results: Linear regression analysis showed that HOMA-IR was positively associated with BMI (P<0.0001), serum TSH level (P<0.05), and FAI (P<0.005). Multivariate liniar regression with HOMA-IR as dependent parameter and BMI, TSH and FAI as independent variables showed that only BMI was independently associated with HOMA-IR after adjustment for TSH and FAI.

Conclusion: Although TSH serum levels are positively associated with HOMA-IR in adolescent euthyroid PCOS patients, this relationship seems to be dependent of adiposity.