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Evaluation of serum hepcidin and iron levels in patients with PCOS: a case-control study

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Abstract

Purpose

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is the most common cause of chronic anovulation with a prevalence of 5–10% in women of reproductive age. The etiology of this disease is not well known, and hepcidin is one of the factors affecting the pathogenesis of the disease. The aim of this study was to evaluate plasma levels of hepcidin in patients with PCOS and its correlation with serum iron level.

Methods

In this case-control study, plasma levels of hepcidin, IL-6, and ferritin using ELISA method and serum iron levels using a spectrophotometric method were tested on 56 women with PCOS (case group) and 41 healthy subjects (control group). The results were analyzed using t test, General Linear Model, Binary logistic regression, and linear regression tests.

Results

The mean hepcidin levels were 1.97 ± 0.53 and 2.40 ± 0.25 pg/ml in the case and control groups, respectively. The t-test results showed significant difference between the two groups (p = 0.0001). The mean serum iron levels were 72.89 ± 28.97 and 70.62 ± 31.18 g/dl in the case and control groups, respectively. The t test analysis indicated no significant difference between the two groups. The serum ferritin and iron levels had no significant relation with serum hepcidin level in two groups.

Conclusion

Despite the differences in the serum levels of hepcidin between the two groups, no significant relation was observed between serum iron levels and hepcidin level in this group of patients. This implies the need for more comprehensive studies on gene expression in hepcidin and iron pathways using real-time and Western techniques to investigate more precisely serum hepcidin level and its relationship with the factors mentioned.

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Acknowledgements

This article has been extracted from M.D. thesis (Reference number 93-01-39-25278) conducted in Tehran University of Medical Sciences and it was carried out with financial support from Research Deputy of Tehran University of Medical Sciences. The authors express their thanks and appreciations to Maryam Bagheri and Masomeh Masoumi for their cooperation in the project.

Funding

This research received financial support from Research Deputy of Tehran University of Medical Sciences.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Vali-e-Asr Reproductive Health Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    B. Hossein Rashidi, S. Shams, H. Kazemi Jaliseh, M. Mohebi & F. Haghollahi

  2. Maternal, Fetal and Neonatal Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    M. Shariat

Authors
  1. B. Hossein Rashidi
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  2. S. Shams
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  3. M. Shariat
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  4. H. Kazemi Jaliseh
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  5. M. Mohebi
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  6. F. Haghollahi
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to F. Haghollahi.

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The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest.

Ethical approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional research committee and the Helsinki Declaration. This article does not contain any studies with animals performed by any of the authors.

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All patients included in the study gave their informed consent.

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Hossein Rashidi, B., Shams, S., Shariat, M. et al. Evaluation of serum hepcidin and iron levels in patients with PCOS: a case-control study. J Endocrinol Invest 40, 779–784 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40618-017-0632-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40618-017-0632-z

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