Assessment of Thyroid Auto-antibodies in Euthyroid Infertile Women with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome - A Cross-sectional Analytical Study.

Background: Thyroid auto-antibodies could be one of the many causes of infertility in women, especially with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) with a prevalence of 5%-15%. Patients with anti-thyroid antibodies have shown significantly lower fertilisation rates, implantation rates, lower pregnancy rates and increased risk of first-trimester abortions when compared with those without anti-thyroid antibodies.

Aim: The aim of the study was to assess the prevalence of thyroid auto-antibodies in euthyroid infertile women with PCOS and to compare the prevalence of thyroid autoantibodies in euthyroid infertile women with PCOS and without PCOS.

Settings and design: This is a cross sectional analytical study involving 132 Infertile women with and without PCOS visiting the department of OBG in a tertiary care center. The study was conducted for period of 2 years.

Materials and methods: A total of one hundred two women were enrolled in to the study. Sixty six women (66) had features of PCOS based on Rotterdam's criteria and 66 women were controls without PCOS features. Detailed history and examination were done for all women after taking informed and written consent. Previous hospital records were collected along with all biochemical investigations. The blood sample was collected for hormonal levels and thyroid auto-antibodies (anti-thyroid peroxidase [TPO] and anti-thyroglobulin [TG]) were assessed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The antibody levels were compared between the two groups along with the other parameters.

Statistical analysis used: Statistical tests were done using SPSS version 26. The Chi-square test or Fisher's exact test would be used to study the association of categorical data like the presence of hirsutism, acne, etc. The association of independent variables with outcome variables was assessed using Chi-square. The P < 0.05 was considered significant with a confidence interval of 95%.

Results: Anti-TPO antibody levels were found to be elevated in 25.4% of the PCOS group in comparison to only 3% of the non-PCOS group. Anti-TG antibodies of >100 U/mL were seen in 23 patients (34.3%) in PCOS group in comparison to two patients (3%) in non-PCOS group (P = 0.001). Both the antibodies (anti-TPO and anti-TG) were present in 21.2% of the PCOS group and 1.5% of the non-PCOS group.

Conclusion: Women with PCOS were found to be 11 times more likely to have anti-TPO antibodies and 20 times more likely to have anti-TG antibodies compared to non-PCOS women. This heightened prevalence of anti-thyroid antibodies suggests that testing for these antibodies may be warranted in women with PCOS, even if they have normal thyroid function. However, further studies with larger sample sizes are needed to validate these findings.