The Correlation of Calculated Testosterone Indices with Metabolic Markers in Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome

Abstract

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) is mainly considered a reproductive disease with chronic anovulation and infertility. Metabolic syndrome risk in patients with PCOS is shown in many studies, and mainly hyperandrogenemia component has a strong predictor of metabolic disorders. This study aimed to compare the value of bioavailable testosterone (BioT) and free androgen index (FAI) levels to determine the correlation with metabolic parameters in patients with PCOS. MATERIALS and METHODS: This study included 83 females with PCOS of reproductive age, according to Rotterdam criteria from outpatient clinics of the Department of İstanbul Training and Research Hospital from January 2020 to October 2020 for our retrospective cohort analysis. FAI was calculated as FAI = (testosterone/SHBG) × 100. Calculations of BioT were conducted using the formula from total testosterone (TT), SHBG, and albumin values. RESULTS: FAI and BioT levels were 5.60±5.73 ng/dL and 21.11±15.44 ng/dL respectively. A positive, moderate, and statistically significant correlation was found between body mass index (BMI) and FAI (r=0.402, p=0.009), whereas a positive, moderate, and statistically significant correlation between BMI and BioT (r=0.491, p=0.002). A positive, moderate, and statistically significant correlation was found between lowdensity lipoprotein and FAI (r=0.377, p=0.040). CONCLUSION: Our study is one of the few studies that investigated and compared the concentrations of BioT and FAI with the metabolic markers in PCOS and indicated the corresponding suitability of both androgen indices in detecting metabolic syndrome risk in PCOS. These indices give more valuable insight into metabolic disturbances than commonly analyzed TT levels.