title: Assessment of C-reactive Protein and C3 as Inflammatory Markers of Insulin Resistance in Women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome: A Case-Control Study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), a common endocrine disorder, is associated with infertility, menstrual dysfunction, hirsutism and frequent miscarriages. Insulin resistance, as a major cause of PCOS, represents a disorder with increase in inflammatory markers and risk of type 2 diabetes. We aimed to investigate whether inflammatory markers, including C-reactive protein and C3 (Complement), are related and altered in polycystic ovary syndrome.
  
  
  METHODS
  A case-control study including forty-two women diagnosed with PCOS, according to Rotterdam criteria, and forty-two healthy controls, matched for body mass index (BMI) and age, was conducted in 2012. C-Reactive protein (CRP) and C3 were assessed as possible determinants of the homeostasis model assessment (HOMA) index. Independent-sample t-test was used to compare the means of the groups in age, BMI, C3, FBS and BS 2hpp (2 hr postprandial glucose) and for CRP, Fasting Insulin and 2 hr Plasma Insulin and HOMA index. Mann-Whitney test and Pearson correlation were used for analyzing the data. The p<0.05 was considered as statistically significant.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Levels of plasma CRP (p=0.039), 2 hr pp (p=0.045), Fasting Insulin (p=0.002), 2 hr Plasma Insulin (p=0.002) and HOMA index (p=0.002) were significantly higher in PCOS patients. But C3 was not significantly higher in cases (p=0.885). There was no significant correlation between C3 and CRP with HOMA index.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  CRP increased significantly in patients with PCOS and was associated with insulin resistance, the most probable cause of PCOS. However, such an association was not found in C3.
authors.affiliation: Minimally Invasive Surgery Research Center, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran ; Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Setareh
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Dehdashtihaghighat
authors.affiliation: Minimally Invasive Surgery Research Center, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran ; Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Abolfazl
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mehdizadehkashi
authors.affiliation: Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran Iran.
authors.forename: Amirmohsen
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Arbabi
authors.affiliation: Minimally Invasive Surgery Research Center, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Mohadeseh
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pishgahroudsari
authors.affiliation: Minimally Invasive Surgery Research Center, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Shahla
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chaichian
keywords: C-reactive Protein; C3; Insulin Resistance; Polycystic Ovary Syndrome