title: Polycystic ovary syndrome and metabolic syndrome in Indigenous Australian women.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) affects around 15% of Indigenous women who are also a group at high risk of cardiometabolic disease.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To explore the impact of PCOS on metabolic syndrome in Indigenous women.
  
  
  METHODS
  A cross-sectional reproductive health questionnaire, biochemical and anthropometric assessments, of 109 Indigenous women (35 with PCOS and 74 without PCOS) aged 15-44 years in and around Darwin between 2003 and 2005. PCOS was defined using the National Institutes of Health criteria, and metabolic syndrome (MetS) using the National Cholesterol Education Programme Adult Treatment Programme III criteria. The outcome was prevalence of MetS by PCOS status; relationship of PCOS with MetS before and after adjustment for markers of obesity and insulin resistance.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Women with PCOS had a significantly higher body mass index (BMI) (P = 0.0001) and MetS was more frequent in women with PCOS (51%) than those without PCOS (23%) (P = 0.003). The most frequent components of MetS in both groups were a high density lipoprotein cholesterol ≤1.29 mmol/L (80% PCOS, 55% non-PCOS) and a waist circumference >88 cm (77% PCOS, 41% non-PCOS); these were significantly more frequent in women with PCOS (P = 0.01). In logistic regression models, PCOS was significantly associated with MetS by itself but not after adjustment for BMI or sex hormone binding globulin.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  While MetS was more common in Indigenous women with PCOS, PCOS was not an independent predictor of MetS. This may be because obesity and insulin resistance are integral parts of PCOS and are the mechanisms through which PCOS exerts metabolic effects.
authors.affiliation: Monash Centre for Health Research Implementation, School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.|Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Monash Health, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Boyle
authors.affiliation: Menzies School of Health Research, Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cunningham
authors.affiliation: The Robinson Institute, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.
authors.forename: R J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Norman
authors.affiliation: Charles Darwin University, Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Dunbar
authors.affiliation: The Sansom Institute, University of South Australia, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: O'Dea
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001315:Australia / Q000453:epidemiology; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006303:Health Services, Indigenous; D006801:Humans; D007333:Insulin Resistance / Q000208:ethnology; D016015:Logistic Models; D024821:Metabolic Syndrome / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology*; D056128:Obesity, Abdominal / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology; D011085:Polycystic Ovary Syndrome / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015995:Prevalence; D034121:Reproductive Health Services; D012307:Risk Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers
keywords: Indigenous; PCOS; metabolic syndrome; obesity; reproductive