Assessment of insulin resistance in young women with polycystic ovary syndrome

Objectives: To determine whether serum levels of potential markers could detect insulin resistance (IR) in young women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Methods: Serum levels of fasting glucose, insulin, intact proinsulin, resistin, and adiponectin were measured in 50 women with PCOS and known homeostatic model assessment (HOMA)-IR values (≥ 2 indicating IR). The women were all younger than 25 years. Results: Of the 50 women, 49 had undetectable levels of resistin, 50 had intact proinsulin levels within the normal range, and 50 had adiponectin levels of 8.4 ± 3.3 mg/L, just below the normal range. When groups were compared, however, the 26 women (52%) with IR (HOMA-IR values ≥ 2) had significantly higher intact proinsulin levels (3.2 ± 2.0 pmol/L vs 1.8 ± 1.0 pmol/L; P < 0.005) and significantly lower adiponectin levels (7.2 ± 2.9 mg/L vs 9.7 ± 3.3 mg/L; P < 0.01), than the 24 women (48%) without IR. Conclusion: Serum levels of intact proinsulin, resistin, or adiponectin were not detectors of IR in individual young women with PCOS.