RESUMO
OBJECTIVE: To assess IR in PCOS patients, using the HE-clamp as the IR gold standard. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A transversal design was done. All patients who accepted to participate provided written informed consent. PCOS was diagnosed according to the 2003 Rotterdam criteria. IR was assessed using the H-clamp, and other IR surrogates such as; fasting plasma insulin (FPI), homeostasis model assessment (HOMA) index and insulin/ glucose rate (I/G rate). Statistical analysis was performed using measures of location and spread was used according to data distribution. RESULTS: 21 patients were included. The mean age of the total group studied was 29.5 +/- 4.8 years, and the body mass index (BMI) was 27.2 +/- 3.08 kg/m2. The 85.7% of the patients met the three Rotterdam criteria for the diagnosis of PCOS. According to the HE clamp 95.2% were IR (M/I value < 6 mg/Kg/min), in contrast the prevalence of IR using sur- rogates was 47.6%, 33.3%, and 66.6% for FPI, G/I rate, and HOMA index respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings show that IR is highly prevalent in patients with PCOS, and that this prevalence is even higher when insulin sensitivity is assessed using the glucose clamp technique. This evidence suggests that IR could be considered diagnostic criteria for PCOS.