Serum Androstenedione Is A Useful Surrogate Marker For Hyperandrogenemia In Polycystic Ovary Syndrome

Objective: Studied the utility of theandrogenprecursor serum androstenedione of the diagnosis of PCOS. Methods:Fifty-five PCOS patients fulfilling Rotterdam diagnostic consensus criteriaunderwent measurement of serum androgens,lipid profiles and an oral glucose tolerance test.Areas under the receiver operating characteristic(ROC) curves were used to compare the power of serum markers. Results:(1) The ROC curve analyses demonstrated that the best markers for hyperandrogenemia were free androgen index(FAI)and androstenedione(A2) with the areas under the ROC curve of 0.805 and 0.737,respectively.(2)The sensitivity and specificity of FAI and A2 were 94.1%, 64.7%, 78.9%,57.9%, respectively.(3)All subjects were divided into two groups(HA,A 2>3.3 ng/ml;NA, A 2 ? 3.3 ng/ml),compared with NA group, HA group has higher FINS,2hINS,HOMA-IR, HDL-C, TT, and FAI(P =0.024, 0.016, 0.044, 0.049, 0.013, 0.000,respectively). ISI, TG and SHBG were higher in NA group than in HA group(P=0.044,0.003, 0.000, respectively).(4)Correlation analysis showed that TT, FAI and 2hINS were positively correlated with A2(R=0.52,P<0.01;R=0.346,P<0.01;R=0.258, P ? 0.05,respectively); HDL-C and SHBG showed a significant negative correlation with A2(R=-0.208,P?0.05;R=-0.333,P?0.05,respectively). Conclusion:A2 and FAI are sensitive indicator of PCOS-related androgen excess. So in the early diagnosis,therapy and prognosis of PCOS, should pay attention to the detection of A2.