Cardiometabolic profile of young women with hypoprolactinemia

Abstract

Purpose: Unlike hyperprolactinemia, clinical significance of prolactin deficiency remains poorly understood. The aim of this study was to assess the cardiometabolic profile of patients with low prolactin levels.

Methods: The study population consisted of three groups of young women. Two groups were chronically treated with cabergoline but differed in prolactin levels, which were either abnormally low (group A; n = 16) or within the reference range (group B, n = 23). Group C, serving as a control group, included 28 drug-naïve women with normal prolactin levels. The dose of cabergoline in group A was then tapered down. Glucose homeostasis markers, plasma lipids and circulating levels of hormones, uric acid, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), fibrinogen and homocysteine, as well as the carotid intima-media thickness were assessed at baseline and 6 months later.

Results: Compared with subjects with normal prolactin levels, women with hypoprolactinemia had higher levels of 2-h postchallenge glucose, glycated hemoglobin, triglycerides, uric acid, hsCRP and fibrinogen, lower values of HDL-cholesterol, total testosterone and free androgen index, as well as reduced insulin sensitivity. No differences in these variables were observed between groups B and C. Apart from prolactin normalization, cabergoline dose reduction reversed all laboratory disturbances reported in group A.

Conclusion: The obtained results suggest that hypoprolactinemia in women of reproductive age may increase cardiometabolic risk.

Keywords: Cardiovascular risk factors; Dopamine agonists; Insulin sensitivity; Prolactin deficiency.