2. Pathophysiology of T2DM Development in PCOS
Ovarian androgens are found in higher concentrations in the majority of women with PCOS compared to the general population, a small but significant proportion of these being derived from the adrenal glands
[7]. Based on current research, although the exact etiological origins of hyperandrogenemia are not entirely clear, prenatal (in utero) exposure to higher androgen concentrations have been tentatively linked to the syndrome
[8]. In addition, higher amplitude of the pulsatile secretion of the gonadotrophin-releasing hormone (GnRH) is seen during puberty in girls affected by PCOS, leading to a more potent excitation of the androgen-producing ovarian cells. This leads to hyperandrogenic symptoms, such as hirsutism, acne, male type hair loss, and ovulatory dysfunction (chronic oligo-anovulation), which produces menstrual irregularity (most commonly oligomenorrhea, i.e., <8 menstrual cycles per year) as well as polycystic ovarian morphology on ultrasound examination, which could lead to infertility in some cases
[9].
Even though hyperandrogenemia is the main clinical finding of PCOS in the reproductive years, the metabolic features of the syndrome are equally important. A significant number of teenagers affected by PCOS present with IR, which is in part mediated by genetic predisposition
[10]. The disorder is frequently accompanied by pancreatic β-cell dysfunction, hepatic and visceral fat accumulation, increased food intake, and increased waist circumference (central obesity). This, in turn, leads to hyperinsulinemia, which arises due to the inability of the pancreatic islets to enable insulin to exert its actions adequately. The latter is mediated in part by pronounced adipose tissue dysfunction and lipotoxicity frequently found in women with PCOS
[11]. Due to this, laboratory findings of this condition could include impaired fasting glucose (IFG), postprandial hyperglycemic excursions (impaired glucose tolerance, IGT), elevations in LDL-cholesterol and triglycerides, lowering of HDL cholesterol, and increased adiponectin and serum markers of inflammation. The sum total of these metabolic derangements can result in the development of T2DM when pancreatic stress reaches a threshold at which insulin production becomes unable to match insulin needs.
IR is an almost universal feature of PCOS, it being found with great frequency, ranging between 44 and 70%, in affected patients
[12]. While this finding is more common in obese women with PCOS, it is also often present in their lean counterparts
[13]. In adolescents with PCOS, peripheral insulin sensitivity was 50% lower than that found in controls, independent of their body mass index, when measured via hyperinsulinemic euglycemic clamp techniques
[14]. IR and β-cell dysfunction are the two prerequisites for development of T2DM both in women with PCOS and in those without the syndrome. The most important trigger of the latter metabolic alteration, however, is obesity.
Nevertheless, there is an enduring argument whether PCOS itself constitutes a risk factor for T2DM or whether T2DM predominantly ensues due to obesity in PCOS
[16,17][15][16]. A well-designed meta-analysis of genetic studies proposed that PCOS does not possess an inherent risk for T2DM and that, instead, T2DM develops due to elevated androgen levels or as a result of adiposity
[18][17].
Dysglycemia, which is an imbalance in the body’s ability to maintain blood sugar levels, is one of the most characteristic metabolic abnormalities in PCOS and should be considered as a continuum, progressing from normoglycemia to impaired fasting glucose (IFG) and/or impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) and overt T2DM. However, it should be noted that IFG is mostly detected in subjects with mostly hepatic IR and normal muscle insulin sensitivity. On the contrary, severe muscle IR accompanied with normal liver insulin sensitivity is found in those subjects with isolated IGT
[20][18]. This observation is of major importance given that IR in women with PCOS is amplified by androgens and vice versa. Indeed, progression of T2DM is significantly higher in hyperandrogenic women with PCOS
[21][19].
3. Prevalence and Methods of Assessment of Dysglycemia in Women with PCOS
In general, the prevalence of dysglycemia, including T2D, IGT, and IFG, is higher in women with PCOS compared to healthy BMI-matched women of reproductive age: namely, in PCOS it ranges from 1.5 to 12.4%, while in normal women of reproductive age, it is 1–3%
[37][20]. With regard to young women with PCOS, the prevalence of these conditions ranges from 2–14.5% for IFG, from 5.9 to 34% for IGT, and from 1.5–10% for IFG, as illustrated in
Table 1. However, the above numbers are extrapolated from the literature data, since the vast majority of available studies provide no strict classification according to age. In addition, there is significant variability among the available data due to the different definitions applied for IFG status (the American Diabetes Association (ADA) or the World Health Organization (WHO) criteria) and the PCOS criteria used. The reality is that a higher degree of dysglycemia is expected in women diagnosed with the more strict NIH criteria compared to the mild phenotype D of the Rotterdam criteria (namely, the coexistence of ovulatory dysfunction and polycystic ovaries on ultrasound) due to the lower grade of IR demonstrated in this subgroup
[38][21]. However, this hypothesis was not corroborated in a large study analyzing data of 2000 women wherein a similar T2DM prevalence was documented among different PCOS phenotypes
[39][22]. The considerable heterogeneity observed could, furthermore, be partly due to the wide range of different countries and races discussed in the studies
Table 1.
Prevalence of dysglycemia in young women with PCOS.
Group |
Year |
n |
Country |
PCOS Criteria |
T2DM Criteria |
Age (Years) |
BMI (kg/m | 2 | ) |
IFG (%) |
IGT (%) |
T2DM (%) |
Rajkhowa et al. [52] | Rajkhowa et al. [23] |
1996 |
90 |
UK |
N |
W |
26 |
31 |
? |
9 |
2 |
Legro et al. [53] | Legro et al. [24] |
1999 |
254 |
USA |
N |
W |
14–44 |
32 ± 3 |
? |
31 |
7.5 |
Ehrmann et al. [54] | Ehrmann et al. [25] |
1999 |
122 |
USA |
N |
A |
25 ± 0.7 |
30–43 |
70][46][47][48]. The other view favored by the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology and the American Society of Reproductive Medicine recommends screening for women with a minimum of one risk factor, such as age over 40 years, a family history of type 2 diabetes or gestational diabetes mellitus, or obesity
[71,72,73][49][50][51].
Table 2.
Guidelines regarding OGTT upon diagnosis in all women with PCOS.
Body |
Suggestion |
Joint AACE/ACE and AE-PCOS society |
Yes |
Australian NHMRC |
No (Recommended if: BMI > 25 kg/m | 2 | —iAsians > 23 kg/m | 2 | , history IFG, IGT, GDM, family history of T2DM, hypertension or high-risk ethnicity) |
Every 1–3 years, based on presence of other diabetes risk factors |
9 |
35 |
10 |
Endocrine Society |
Yes |
Endocrine Society |
Every 3–5 years. Sooner if additional risk factors for T2D |
Gambineri et al. [55] | Gambineri et al. [26] |
2004 |
121 |
Italy |
R |
W |
14–37 |
20–38 |
? |
15.7 |
2.5 |
Royal College of Obstetricians & Gynecology |
No (Recommended if one or more: BMI ≥ 25 kg/m | 2 | , age ≥ 40 years, previous gestational diabetes or family history of T2DM) |
Royal College of Obstetricians & Gynecology |
Annually in women with IGT or IFG |
Chen et al. [56] | Chen et al. [27] |
2006 |
102 |
China |
R |
W |
24.2 ± 6 |
21.7 ± 4 |
? |
20.5 |
1.9 |
Mohlig et al. [ |
Sweden |
AE-PCOS Society |
No |
50] | Mohlig et al. [28] |
AE-PCOS Society |
Every 2 years in women with risk factors Sooner if additional risk factors for T2D develop |
2006 |
264 |
ESHRE and ASRMGermany |
N |
W |
28 ± 0.4 |
30 ± 0.4 |
? |
No (Recommended if BMI ≥ 27 kg/m | 2 | )14.3 |
1.5 |
Vrbikova et al. [57] | Vrbikova et al. [29] |
2007 |
244 |
Czech |
R |
A |
27 ± 7.5 |
27 ± 6.9 |
12.3 |
9.4 |
1.6 |
Espinos-Gomez al. [58] | Espinos-Gomez al. [30] |
2008 |
102 |
SpainR |
ESHRE and ASRM |
Not specified |
N |
W |
26 ± 6 |
30.2 ± 8 |
? |
10.7 |
7.7 |
Bhattacharya et al. [59] | Bhattacharya et al. [31] |
2009 |
264 |
India |
R |
W |
24 ± 4 |
27 ± 4.5 |
? |
14.4 |
Zhao et al. [60] | Zhao et al. [32] |
2010 |
818 |
China |
R |
A |
25 ± 5 |
? |
8.5 |
35.4 |
4 |
Stovall et al. [61] | Stovall et al. [33] |
2011 |
78 |
USA |
N |
A |
26 ± 6.4 |
29 ± 6 |
2 |
14 |
? |
Celik et al. [43] | Celik et al. [34] |
2013 |
252 |
Turkey |
R |
A |
24 ± 5 |
26 ± 5.7 |
? |
14.3 |
2 |
Lerchbaum et al. [62] | Lerchbaum et al. [35] |
2014 |
714 |
Austria |
R |
A |
27 (23–32) |
24.2 |
12.8 |
1.5 |
Ganie et al. [63] | Ganie et al. [36] |
2015 |
2014 |
India |
R |
A |
23 ± 5.4 |
25 ± 4.4 |
14.5 |
5.9 |
6.3 |
Li et al. [64] | Li et al. [37] |
2016 |
2436 |
China |
R |
A |
27 |
21.56 |
13.5 |
19.8 |
3.9 |
Pelanis et al. [65] | Pelanis et al. [38] |
2017 |
876 | A |
29 (25–34) |
28 (23–33) |
11 |
12 |
3 |
Zhang et al. [39] | Zhang et al. [22] |
2018 |
378 |
China |
R |
IDF |
27 ± 4.4 |
30 ± 4.3 |
31.5 |
8.7 |
Ortiz-Flores et al. [66] | Ortiz-Flores et al. [39] |
2019 |
400 |
Spain |
R |
W |
26 (14–49) |
28.6 |
14 |
14.5 |
2.5 |
Choi et al. [67] | Choi et al. [40] |
2021 |
262 |
Korea |
R |
A |
23 ± 5.7 |
22.7 ± 4.2 |
19.5% |
1.6% |