Changes in Metabolic Profile in Women with a History of PCOS: A Long-Term Follow-Up Study

The study "Changes in Metabolic Profile in the Women with a History of PCOS—A Long-Term Follow-Up Study" followed 31 Caucasian women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) for a median period of 120.9 months. The study found an increase in glucose concentrations, a decrease in insulin concentrations, and no changes in insulin resistance markers. No one developed diabetes, but the annualized incidence rate for conversion from normoglycemia to prediabetes was 4.5%. Prediabetes predictors in young PCOS women were identified as baseline body mass index (BMI), free androgen index, fasting glucose, and M-clamp value. Prediabetes appeared in 76.47% of the women with a final BMI of ≥ 25 kg/m² and in 7.14% of the normal-weight women. The study concluded that there is a high rate of adverse change in glucose metabolism in overweight and obese participants, a deterioration in ß-cell function, and strong correlations between metabolic parameters assessed in the third and the fourth decade in PCOS women. This emphasizes the role of early intervention to prevent cardiometabolic diseases.