Evaluation of Autonomic Function in Polycystic Ovary Syndrome with Hypothyroidism

Background and Aim: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and thyroid disorders are commonest endocrine disorders; both of these disorders have profound effect on reproductive function in women’s. An increase in ovarian volume and cystic changes in ovaries have been reported in hypothyroidism. Recent studies reveal that PCOS might be associated with cardiovascular autonomic dysfunction and the thyroid hormone also influences the autonomic nervous system. So the aim of the study was to first, evaluate and compare autonomic function in PCOS as well as in PCOS with hypothyroidism, second, correlation between thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) and autonomic function tests (AFT) in both the groups and third, study also provided further exploration in autonomic function in PCOS in presence of hypothyroidism. Methods: Total 43 newly diagnosed not on medications subjects were recruited, these subjects were divided into group A PCOS (n=33) and group B PCOS with hypothyroidism (n=10). Anthropometric measurements were taken from all the participants and autonomic function tests for assessing parasympathetic function (such as heart rate response to immediate standing and standing to lying ratio) and sympathetic function (such as blood pressure response to immediate standing and mental arithmetic stress test) were employed, then measurements was taken according to the respective scoring procedures. Results: In our studied population PCOS as well as PCOS with hypothyroidism showed autonomic dysfunction but no significant difference was found between them. No correlation and significance was found between TSH and AFT in both the groups. Conclusion: Our study concluded that the presence of hypothyroidism did not further affect autonomic function in PCOS and TSH was unrelated to AFT.