Sleep and cardiometabolic function in obese adolescent girls with polycystic ovary syndrome

ObjectiveTo compare the polysomnography findings and cardiometabolic function among adolescent girls with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and matched female and male controls.MethodRetrospective chart review of electronic medical records of 28 girls with PCOS (age: 16.8 ± 1.9 years, body mass index (BMI) Z-score 2.4 ± 0.4), 28 control females (age: 17.1 ± 1.8, BMI Z-score 2.4 ± 0.3) and 28 control males (age: 16.6 ± 1.6, BMI Z-score 2.5 ± 0.5) in a tertiary care centre.ResultsThe prevalence of obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) was higher in girls with PCOS compared to control females (16/28 (57%) vs. 4/28(14.3%), p < 0.01); however, it was comparable to that of the control males (16/28(57%) vs. 21/28(75%), p = 0.4). Girls with PCOS had a significantly higher prevalence of insulin resistance compared to control females and control males (20/28 (71.4%) vs. 9/22 (41.0%) (p = 0.04) vs. 8/23 (34.8%) (p = 0.01). Among girls with PCOS, those with OSA had significantly higher proportions of metabolic syndrome (MetS) (9/16 (56.3%) vs. 1/12 (8.3%) p = 0.03), higher insulin resistance (14/16 (87.5%) vs. 6/12 (50%), p = 0.04), elevated daytime systolic blood pressure (128.4 ± 12.8 vs. 115.6 ± 11.4, p < 0.01), lower high-density lipoprotein (HDL) (38.6 ± 8.7 vs. 49 ± 10.9, p = 0.01) and elevated triglycerides (TG) (149.7 ± 87.7 vs. 93.3 ± 25.8, p = 0.03) compared to those without OSA.ConclusionsWe report a higher prevalence of OSA and metabolic dysfunction in a selected group of obese girls with PCOS referred with sleep-related complaints compared to BMI-matched control girls without PCOS. We also report higher prevalence of cardiometabolic dysfunction in girls with PCOS and OSA compared to girls with PCOS without OSA.