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Clinical implications of menstrual cycle length in oligomenorrhoeic young women
Author(s) -
Oh JeeYoung,
Sung YeonAh,
Lee Hye Jin
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
clinical endocrinology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.055
H-Index - 147
eISSN - 1365-2265
pISSN - 0300-0664
DOI - 10.1111/cen.12243
Subject(s) - menstrual cycle , endocrinology , medicine , young adult , hormone
Summary Objective Although menstrual irregularity is associated with insulin resistance and hyperandrogenism, the relationship between the severity of menstrual infrequency and clinical phenotypes in young women with oligomenorrhoea ( OM ) is unclear. We evaluated whether a longer menstrual cycle length is associated with less favourable metabolic features. Design/Patients/Measurements A total of 1174 young women (aged 19–39 years) with a menstrual cycle length over 40 days and 1430 women with regular menstrual cycles participated voluntarily. Metabolic parameters, insulin sensitivity index ( ISI ) and testosterone were measured. Oligomenorrhoeic women were divided into three groups: (i) polycystic ovary syndrome ( PCOS ) by N ational I nstitute of H ealth criteria, (ii) severe OM (menstrual cycle length >60 days), and (iii) mild OM (menstrual cycle length 40–60 days). Results In normal‐weight women ( BMI < 23 kg/m 2 ), the degrees of insulin resistance and hyperandrogenaemia are the highest in PCOS and higher in severe OM compared with mild OM . In overweight or obese women, PCOS was more insulin resistant and hyperandrogenaemic, but there was no difference between severe and mild OM . After excluding PCOS , women with severe OM showed a twofold increased risk of metabolic syndrome compared with regular cycling women (odds ratio 2·4, 95% confidence interval 1·1–5·6). By linear regression analysis, a longer menstrual cycle length was associated with ISI after adjustment for age, BMI , metabolic risk factors and testosterone. Conclusions Women with a menstrual cycle length over 60 days should be more closely monitored for the metabolic syndrome than women with a menstrual cycle length of 40–60 days, even if they have no PCOS .