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. 2005 Mar 7;4(1):71-78.
doi: 10.1007/BF03016140. eCollection 2005 Mar.

Body fat distribution and leptin correlation in women with polycystic ovary syndrome: Endocrine and biochemical evaluation in south Indian population

Mani Ravishankar Ram  1 , Pulliangudi Gokulakrishnan Sundararaman  2 , Raghunathan Malathi  1
Affiliations

Body fat distribution and leptin correlation in women with polycystic ovary syndrome: Endocrine and biochemical evaluation in south Indian population

Mani Ravishankar Ram et al. Reprod Med Biol. .

Abstract

Aims: Obesity is associated with the increased prevalence of infertility and is also an independent risk factor in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). The aim of this study was to examine the extent to which the ob gene product, leptin, alone or in combination with other metabolic and endocrinal parameters, may be correlated to infertility with the incidence of PCOS. Methods: Serum leptin levels were measured in both PCOS and non-PCOS subjects of the following categories, such as thin, overweight, obese and morbidly obese, and compared with normal weight women. Female infertility is associated with body mass index, percentage of body fat, body fat distribution, and other biochemical and endocrinal parameters parameters. Results: Women with PCOS and normally menstruating control women were analyzed by univariate analysis for body fat distribution. Serum leptin was positively correlated with body mass index, percentage of body fat, serum levels of dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate, testosterone, free testosterone, luteinizing hormone and prolactin. Serum leptin was inversely correlated with serum sex hormone-binding globulin concentration and androstenedione. Conclusions: We report, for the first time in the Indian population, that leptin levels are different in thin and morbidly obese PCOS patients than in regularly menstruating normal weight subjects, and leptin could be a novel, independent risk factor for PCOS. (Reprod Med Biol 2005; 4: 71-78).

Keywords: body fat distribution; body mass index; endocrinal parameters; polycystic ovary syndrome; serum leptin.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Distribution of serum immunoreactive leptin concentration in 320 subjects with varying adiposity. Data are plotted in intervals of 2.0 ng/mL leptin.
Figure 2
Figure 2
The relation between the body mass index (BMI) and the serum leptin concentration in 100 normal weight controls, polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)/non‐PCOS of 40 thin, 50 overweight, 50 obese, and 80 morbidly obese (MO) subjects.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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