The effect of administration of metformin on lipid profile changes and insulin resistance in patients with polycystic ovary syndrome

Objective: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is one of the most common metabolism and endocrine disorders among women. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effects of metformin on lipid profile changes, insulin resistance, body mass index (BMI), Ovulation and pregnancy rates in patients affected by PCO syndrome.
Materials and Methods: In this randomized controlled study, 200 women aged 20-35 years with PCOS were selected. Diagnostic criteria were based on the diagnostic criteria of PCO syndrome in Noterdam meeting in 2003. Samples of fasting peripheral blood were taken from all patients to test cholesterol, LDL, HDL, TG, FBS and Insulin before treatment. Patients were then divided randomly into two groups. In case group (n=100), metformin was prescribed three times a day (1500 mg daily) and in control group (n=100), placebo was administered in the same way. After three months, sample of blood was taken again in order to test the variance of the above mentioned parameters to compare with these amounts before test. Also, BMI was compared before and after treatment in both groups.
Results: BMI was 28.81±3.18 and 29.49 ± 4.7 Kg/m2 before treatment in case and control groups respectively. This ratio changed after treatment to 28.45 ± 2.8 and 29.29 ± 4.8 Kg/m2 in case and control groups respectively (P-value>0.05). FSH/insulin ratio was 4.67±0.9 and 5.03±1.3 in case and control group respectively, while it changed after treatment to 6.07 ± 1.4 and 5.05 ±1.3 and this difference was significant in case group (P-value=0.0001),but it was no difference in control group. In case group, HDL level increased after treatment from 26.65±9.9 to 33.19± 9.9 MMoL/L (P-value=0.0001), and Triglyceride level decreased after treatment from 208.96±58.9 to 191.54±55.4 MMoL/L (P-value=0.004); whereas there was no change in control group. LDL and cholesterol levels did not change in both groups. Ovulation rate and pregnancy rate were significantly higher in case group than in control group (86% vs. 20%) (P-value=0.003) and (40% vs. 11%) (P=0.021) respectively. In addition, Metformin had no significant effect on BMI in case group.
Conclusion: Treatment with metformin during 3 months causes not only the increase in ovulation and pregnancy rates but also the decrease in insulin resistance and lipid profile changes.