Subclinical hypothyroidism and insulin resistance in polycystic ovary syndrome: is there a relationship?

Background: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is the most common hyperandrogenic disorder among women and is often defined as hyperandrogenic syndrome. These patients are at risk for oligo/amenorrhea, chronic anovulation, infertility, obesity, spontaneous abortion, insulin resistance, hyperinsulinemia and metabolic syndrome. Thyroid disorders especially hypothyroidism is more common in these people. In PCOS patients, subclinical hypothyroidism may aggravate insulin resistance.
Objective: The goal was to find any relationship between subclinical hypothyroidism and insulin resistance in PCOS patients.
Materials and Methods: In this prospective cross sectional study we included all PCOS patients coming to infertility clinic of Taleghani Hospital in 2010-2012 who had the criteria of Rotterdam for PCOS. Then the clinical examination was done for them and height, weight, body mass index and lab data were measured including thyroid hormone and biochemical profile. The data were analyzed by SPSS software version 20.
Results: Among 75 PCOS patients, 19 (25.5%) had subclinical hypothyroidism and 56 patients (74.4%) were euthyroid. The prevalence of insulin resistance was 22.7% and 77.3% of patients had no insulin resistance were normal.
Conclusion: We could find no relationship between insulin resistance and subclinical hypothyroidism in PCOS patients.