RESUMO
OBJECTIVE: To test the hypothesis that plasma visfatin concentrations will be higher in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) than in women without PCOS. DESIGN: Clinical study. SETTING: University hospital. PATIENT(S): A total of 52 women were evaluated. Twenty-six had PCOS, and the remaining 26 were healthy women with regular menstrual cycles who served as control subjects. INTERVENTION(S): Plasma visfatin concentrations were analyzed with the use of RIA. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Serum concentrations of FSH, LH, TSH, PRL, T, insulin, E(2), and visfatin. RESULT(S): Plasma visfatin concentrations were significantly higher in the PCOS group (336.8 +/- 50.2 ng/mL) than in the healthy control group (282.4 +/- 43.3 ng/mL). Logistic regression analysis indicated a significant association between odds ratio (OR) values of PCOS and visfatin levels (OR = 2.81; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.74-2.90), T (OR = 3.39; 95% CI, 2.85-4.16), and LH levels (OR = 3.49; 95% CI, 2.79-4.56). There was no correlation between plasma visfatin concentrations and T, insulin, and LH levels or age in either the PCOS group or the control group. We observed that plasma visfatin levels were positively correlated with body mass index in the PCOS group (r = 0.396, r(2) = 0.157) but not in the control group (r = -0.328, r(2) = 0.108). CONCLUSION(S): Our data show that women with PCOS exhibit higher plasma visfatin levels than control subjects of similar body mass index. Further studies are required to clarify the etiology and effects of hypervisfatinemia in women with PCOS.