Impact of Smoking and Obesity on the Selected Peptide Hormones and Metabolic Parameters in the Blood of Women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome-Preliminary Study

Abstract

We investigated the effects of tobacco smoke exposure and abnormal body weight on selected peptide hormones and their association with metabolic and hormonal disorders in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). The study group included 88 women with PCOS and 28 women without the disease. In women with PCOS, chemerin, lipocalin, and apelin concentrations were influenced by overweight and obesity status, with the highest concentrations observed in those with a body mass index (BMI) ≥ 30.0. Exposure to tobacco smoke significantly increased only lipocalin-2 concentration. The disease itself did not affect the concentrations of chemerin, lipocalin, and apelin. Additionally, we found a positive correlation between chemerin concentration and fasting glucose, fasting insulin, and triglycerides levels, while a negative correlation was observed with high-density lipoprotein (HDL-C) concentration. In the smoking subgroup, chemerin concentration was positively correlated with free testosterone concentration and the free androgen index and negatively associated with sex hormone-binding globulin concentration. Our findings indicate that abnormal body weight has a stronger impact than tobacco smoke exposure on metabolic and hormonal disorders in women with PCOS, highlighting the important role of weight control in such individuals. However, smoking appears to be an additional factor that intensifies hormonal disorders associated with adipose tissue.

Keywords: peptide hormones; polycystic ovary syndrome; smoking.

Figure 1

The main relationships among chemerin, apelin, or lipocalin-2 concentration and anthropometric, metabolic, or sex hormone parameters or smoking. Legend: PCOS—polycystic ovary syndrome; BMI—body mass index; HDL-C—high-density lipoprotein; TG—triglycerides; HOMA-IR—homeostatic model assessment for insulin resistance; FSH—follicle-stimulating hormone; DHEA—S-dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate; SHBG—sex hormone-binding globulin; tTest—total testosterone; fTest—free testosterone; FAI—free androgen index.