Higher fasting glucose level tied to increase risk of diabetes in PCOS

Among women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), higher baseline fasting glucose levels are linked to an increased incidence of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), a study reports.

Furthermore, over about 3 years of follow-up, about 20 percent of women with normal glucose levels progressed to prediabetes or T2DM while close to half of those with prediabetes achieved normoglycaemia.

The study included 262 women with PCOS who underwent baseline and follow‐up screening tests for diabetes. Four patients with T2DM at baseline and six of those found to be doing drugs at the final follow‐up were excluded.

At baseline, 202 women had normoglycaemia (mean age, 23.0 years; mean body mass index [BMI], 21.6 kg/m²) while 50 had prediabetes (mean age, 23.6 years; mean BMI, 22.9 kg/m²). The median duration of follow‐up was 2.9 years.

In the normoglycaemia group, 38 women (18.8 percent) developed prediabetes and two (1.0 percent) T2DM. In the prediabetes group, six women (12.0 percent) developed T2DM while 22 (44.0 percent) achieved normal glucose levels; 22 (44.0 percent) remained in the same category.

The incidence rate of T2DM in the cohort was 9.3 per 1,000 person‐years, which was significantly higher than that of the female population of similar age. More importantly, the incidence was higher among women with baseline fasting glucose of ≥5.6 mmol/L than among those with <5.6 mmol/L.

The study is said to be the first to evaluate glycaemic status changes using all three parameters in women with PCOS.