Androgen levels in women with various forms of ovarian dysfunction: associations with cardiometabolic features.
OBJECTIVE
Are differences in androgen levels among women with various forms of ovarian dysfunction associated with cardiometabolic abnormalities?


CONCLUSIONS
Androgen levels differed substantially between women with and without ovarian dysfunction, and increased androgen levels were associated with impaired cardiometabolic features in all women irrespective of their clinical condition.


BACKGROUND
Sex steroid hormones play important roles in the development of cardiovascular diseases (CVD). Extremes of low as well as high androgen levels have been associated with increased CVD risk in both men and women.


METHODS
This cross-sectional study included 680 women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), premature ovarian insufficiency (POI), natural post-menopausal women (NM), or regular menstrual cycles (RC) (170 women per group).


METHODS
Measurements of serum testosterone, androstenedione and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate were performed using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Assessments were taken of body mass index (BMI), blood pressure, lipid profiles, glucose, insulin and SHBG, and the bioactive fraction of circulating testosterone was calculated using the free androgen index (FAI).


RESULTS
PCOS women were hyperandrogenic [median FAI = 4.9 (IQR 3.6-7.4)], and POI women were hypoandrogenic [FAI = 1.2 (0.8-1.7)], compared with RC women [FAI = 1.7 (1.1-2.8)], after adjustment for age, ethnicity, smoking and BMI (P < 0.001). After adjustment for age, there were no significant differences in androgens between POI and NM (P = 0.15) women and between NM and RC (P = 0.27) women, the latter indicating that chronological aging rather than ovarian aging influences the differences between pre- and post-menopausal women. A high FAI was associated with elevated triglycerides (β log FAI for PCOS: 0.45, P < 0.001, POI: 0.25, P < 0.001, NM: 0.20, P = 0.002), insulin (β log FAI for PCOS: 0.77, POI: 0.44, NM: 0.40, all P < 0.001), HOMA-IR (β log FAI for PCOS: 0.82, POI: 0.46, NM: 0.47, all P < 0.001) and mean arterial pressure (β log FAI for PCOS: 0.05, P = 0.002, POI: 0.07, P < 0.001, NM: 0.04, P = 0.04) in all women; with increased glucose (β log FAI for PCOS: 0.05, P = 0.003, NM: 0.07, P < 0.001) and decreased high-density lipoprotein (β log FAI for PCOS: -0.23, P < 0.001, NM: -0.09, P = 0.03) in PCOS and NM women; and with increased low-density lipoprotein (β log FAI for POI: 0.083, P = 0.041) in POI women. Adjustment for BMI attenuated the observed associations. Associations between FAI and cardiometabolic features were the strongest in PCOS women, even after adjustment for BMI.


CONCLUSIONS
Associations between androgen levels and cardiometabolic features were assessed in PCOS, POI and NM women only, due to a lack of available data in RC women. Due to the cross-sectional design of the current study, the potential associations between androgen levels and actual future cardiovascular events could not be assessed.


CONCLUSIONS
This study affirms the potent effect of androgens on cardiometabolic features, indicating that androgens should indeed be regarded as important denominators of women's health. Future research regarding the role of androgens in the development of CVD and potential modulatory effects of BMI is required.


BACKGROUND
N.M.P.D. is supported by the Dutch Heart Foundation (grant number 2013T083). L.J. and O.H.F. work in ErasmusAGE, a center for aging research across the life course, funded by Nestlé Nutrition (Nestec Ltd), Metagenics Inc. and AXA. M.K. is supported by the AXA Research Fund. Nestlé Nutrition (Nestec Ltd), Metagenics Inc. and AXA had no role in the design and conduct of the study; the collection, management, analysis and interpretation of the data; or the preparation, review or approval of the manuscript. J.S.E.L. has received fees and grant support from the following companies (in alphabetical order): Ferring, Merck-Serono, Merck Sharpe & Dome, Organon, Schering Plough and Serono. In the last 5 years, B.C.J.M.F. has received fees and grant support from the following companies (in alphabetic order); Actavis, COGI, Euroscreen, Ferring, Finox, Genovum, Gedeon-Richter, Merck-Serono, OvaScience, Pantharei Bioscience, PregLem, Roche, Uteron and Watson laboratories. With regard to potential conflicts of interest, there is nothing further to disclose.
Department of Reproductive Medicine and Gynecology, University Medical Center Utrecht, HP F05.126, PO Box 85500, 3584 CX Utrecht, The Netherlands n.m.p.daan@umcutrecht.nl.
N M P
NM
Daan
Department of Epidemiology, Erasmus Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
L
L
Jaspers
Department of Reproductive Medicine and Gynecology, University Medical Center Utrecht, HP F05.126, PO Box 85500, 3584 CX Utrecht, The Netherlands.
M P H
MP
Koster
Department of Reproductive Medicine and Gynecology, University Medical Center Utrecht, HP F05.126, PO Box 85500, 3584 CX Utrecht, The Netherlands.
F J M
FJ
Broekmans
Department of Clinical Chemistry, Erasmus Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Y B
YB
de Rijke
Department of Epidemiology, Erasmus Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
O H
OH
Franco
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Erasmus Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
J S E
JS
Laven
Department of Epidemiology, Erasmus Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
M
M
Kavousi
Department of Reproductive Medicine and Gynecology, University Medical Center Utrecht, HP F05.126, PO Box 85500, 3584 CX Utrecht, The Netherlands.
B C J M
BC
Fauser
D000328:Adult; D000728:Androgens / Q000097:blood*; D000735:Androstenedione / Q000097:blood; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000209:etiology; D002853:Chromatography, Liquid; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D019314:Dehydroepiandrosterone Sulfate / Q000097:blood; D004703:Endocrine System; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007333:Insulin Resistance; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D011085:Polycystic Ovary Syndrome / Q000150:complications; D017698:Postmenopause; D016649:Primary Ovarian Insufficiency / Q000097:blood* / Q000150:complications*; D013256:Steroids / Q000378:metabolism; D053719:Tandem Mass Spectrometry; D013739:Testosterone / Q000097:blood; D055815:Young Adult
D000728:Androgens; D013256:Steroids; D013739:Testosterone; D000735:Androstenedione; D019314:Dehydroepiandrosterone Sulfate
PCOS; POI; androgens; cardiovascular risk factors; menopause