Vitamin D deficiency, insulin resistance, and antimüllerian hormone level: a tale of trio in the expression of polycystic ovary syndrome

Objective

To study the association between altered vitamin D profiles and different indices as well as clinical features of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), including antimüllerian hormone (AMH) levels, phenotypes (A [hyperandrogenism {HA} + ovulatory dysfunction {OD} + polycystic ovarian morphology {PCOM}], B [HA + OD], C [HA + PCOM], and D [OD + PCOM]), insulin resistance, oligomenorrhea, hyperandrogenism, obesity indices, and stress biomarkers in the ethnic population of West Bengal.

Design

Case-control observational study.

Setting

Outpatient department of gynecology and obstetrics and environing.

Participants (Patients and Control)

Sample size: case group (PCOS, n = 160), age: 16–38 years, and their gender, age, as well as ethnicity-matched healthy control (n = 160).

Intervention(s)

In this observational study, a structured questionnaire for menstrual status and to determine the scores of cutaneous manifestations, a bioelectrical impedance analyzer for measurement of anthropometric indices, relevant biochemical assessments (vitamin D, AMH, insulin, glucose, and other associated hormonal profiles), statistical software for the social sciences, and Microsoft Office Excel were used to evaluate as well as analyze different indices.

Main Outcome Measure(s)

Study of the association of vitamin D deficiency with differential manifestations of PCOS such as phenotypes of the syndrome, altered AMH levels, and risk of insulin resistance. An attempt has been made to determine the cutoff value of AMH of the patients with PCOS belonging to the ethnic population of West Bengal using receiver operating characteristic (ROC).

Result(s)

Vitamin D deficiency was found to be directly correlated with AMH level in PCOS phenotype A (67%), oligomenorrhea, and PCOM, along with a substantial agonistic relationship with insulin resistance in the PCOS population under study. In the PCOS phenotype B, the AMH level was highest, with a cutoff value of 5.27 ng/mL (asymptotic sig. = 0.000, 95% confidence interval: 8.37–9.95, derived by ROC analysis, with area under the ROC curve- area under the curve value = 0.949, sensitivity=0.882, and specificity = 0.880). Oligomenorrhic women with PCOS possess significantly higher values of AMH levels (8.70 ± 3.66 > 3.09 ± 1.86 ng/mL) level than the regular menstrual rhythm within the same group. Patients with PCOS had significantly less skeletal muscle mass and greater subcutaneous fat content than the control group.

Conclusion(s)

25-hydroxy-vitamin D might be intermeshed with the underlying pathophysiology and severity of PCOS, as well as associated metabolic disorders like insulin resistance. The AMH level is finely tuned by most of the plausible effectors of PCOS and contends to be a promising biomarker for the diagnosis as well as prognosis of PCOS.