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Insulin Resistance in Patients with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome is a Predictor of Fibromyalgia

  • Reproductive Endocrinology: Original Article
  • Published:
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Abstract   

Objective

This study aims to investigate the frequency of fibromyalgia and its predictors in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and its relationship with insulin resistance, and to assess the effect of fibromyalgia on the anxiety and depressive symptoms in PCOS patients, and how the quality of life was affected by this combination.

Measurements

The study was conducted with 74 women with PCOS according to the Rotterdam criteria, which applied to our tertiary care clinic between January 2021 and January 2022, and 51 controls. Endocrinologic and rheumatologic examinations, biochemical and hormonal analyses, and radiologic imaging are made. Hospital anxiety and depression scale (HADs) and Short Form 36 (SF-36) quality of life scale were applied.

Results

There was no statistical difference between patients (n = 74 (23%)) and controls (n = 51 (13.7%)) in terms of fibromyalgia frequency. This frequency was 41.4% in PCOS patients with insulin resistance. The presence of insulin resistance was significantly higher in patients with PCOS and fibromyalgia (70.4%, 12 of 17 patients with fibromyalgia for the PCOS group; 8.3%, 1 of 7 patients with fibromyalgia for the control group) (χ2 = 9.130, p=0.003). Higher HOMA-IR levels (B = 1.278, p = 0.034) and age (B = 1.134, p = 0.022) were significant predictors of fibromyalgia in PCOS patients. Physical functioning (U = 1.960, P = 0.050), bodily pain subscales (U = 2.765, p = 0.006), and physical health summary measure (U = 2.296, p = 0.022) were significantly lower, VAS pain (U = 5.145, p < 0.0001) and fatigue (U = 5.997, p < 0.0001) scale scores were higher in PCOS patients with fibromyalgia.

Conclusions

Our results show that fibromyalgia is frequent in PCOS patients with insulin resistance.

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Data Availability

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

Code availability

Not applicable.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank the participants of this study.

Funding

The authors declare that no funding was received from any institution.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Endocrinology, Ankara City Hospital, Ankara, 06000, Turkey

    Belma Özlem Tural Balsak, Sevgül Faki & Müge Keskin

  2. Faculty of Medicine, Department of Endocrinology, Ankara Yildirim Beyazit University, Ankara, Turkey

    Şefika Burçak Polat, Oya Topaloğlu, Reyhan Ersoy & Bekir Çakir

  3. Department of Rheumatology, Ankara City Hospital, Ankara, 06000, Turkey

    Kevser Orhan

  4. Department of Radiology, Ankara City Hospital, Ankara, 06000, Turkey

    Salih Süha Koparal

Authors
  1. Belma Özlem Tural Balsak
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  2. Sevgül Faki
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  3. Şefika Burçak Polat
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  4. Kevser Orhan
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Contributions

Drs. Tural Balsak, Faki, Polat, Orhan, Koparal, Keskin, Topaloglu, Ersoy and Cakir conceptualized and designed the study, drafted the initial manuscript, and reviewed and revised the manuscript.

Dr. Tural Balsak collected data, conducted the initial analyses, and reviewed and revised the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Belma Özlem Tural Balsak.

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Ethics Approval

This study was approved by the local institutional review board (E1- 21–1458) and followed the Helsinki Declaration of Human Rights guidelines.

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Written informed consent was obtained from all participants.

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All authors approved the final manuscript as submitted and agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work.

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The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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Tural Balsak, B.Ö., Faki, S., Polat, Ş.B. et al. Insulin Resistance in Patients with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome is a Predictor of Fibromyalgia. Reprod. Sci. 31, 239–247 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s43032-023-01347-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s43032-023-01347-0

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