NTRODUCTION: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is the most common endocrine disorder in women of reproductive age, with a prevalence in Europe of about 6.5%. It is known that women with PCOS have different hormonal pattern, with high variability through phenotypes. High levels of androgens may cause an increase in lean body mass. It is not yet clear whether patients with PCOS have greater muscle strength than women not suffering from this syndrome. Our aim was to investigate whether patients with PCOS have different lean mass, strength and aerobic capacity, respect to patients without the syndrome. METHODS: This is an observational study where patients underwent the following evaluations: - Functional tests, such as cardio-pulmonary exercise and handgrip test; - Evaluation of body composition with DEXA; - Blood analysis (testosterone, androstenedione). Statistic evaluation was made with SPSS. RESULTS: We evaluated 40 women (27 women with PCOS vs 13 women without PCOS). These two populations examined were comparable for BMI, age (18-46 years), total body composition and upper limbs Fat Free Mass (evaluated by DEXA). No differences were found in hormonal patterns too. The most interesting results were the observation in PCOS group of a greater handgrip strength, when related to kg of lean mass in arms (p=0,001). Also aerobic capacity, expressed as VO2 max per Kg (p=0,01) and VO2 per Kg of lean mass (p=0,02), was higher in the PCOS population. Similarly, OUES and maximal exercise capacity (expressed as METs) suggested the presence of a better fitness in the PCOS group. The analysis based on VO2 determinants (multivariate analysis) demonstrate that only having PCOS is an independent predictor of a better functional capacity (expressed as VO2max, VO2 max per Kg, VO2max per lean mass Kg and as OUES). Further, we demonstrated that VO2max per kg of lean mass is predicted by testosterone and lean mass too. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, our data could suggest the presence of greater muscle strength, higher aerobic and functional capacity in women with PCOS, despite the presence of a similar lean mass quantity and hormonal levels.
Strength and functional capacity in women with polycystic ovary syndrome
BAIOCCATO, VERONICA;QUINTO, GIULIA;ROVAI, SARA;FOCCARDI, GIULIA;NEUNHAEUSERER D.;GASPERETTI A.;BATTISTA F.;BULLO V.;GOBBO S.;BERGAMIN M.;ERMOLAO A.
2019
Abstract
NTRODUCTION: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is the most common endocrine disorder in women of reproductive age, with a prevalence in Europe of about 6.5%. It is known that women with PCOS have different hormonal pattern, with high variability through phenotypes. High levels of androgens may cause an increase in lean body mass. It is not yet clear whether patients with PCOS have greater muscle strength than women not suffering from this syndrome. Our aim was to investigate whether patients with PCOS have different lean mass, strength and aerobic capacity, respect to patients without the syndrome. METHODS: This is an observational study where patients underwent the following evaluations: - Functional tests, such as cardio-pulmonary exercise and handgrip test; - Evaluation of body composition with DEXA; - Blood analysis (testosterone, androstenedione). Statistic evaluation was made with SPSS. RESULTS: We evaluated 40 women (27 women with PCOS vs 13 women without PCOS). These two populations examined were comparable for BMI, age (18-46 years), total body composition and upper limbs Fat Free Mass (evaluated by DEXA). No differences were found in hormonal patterns too. The most interesting results were the observation in PCOS group of a greater handgrip strength, when related to kg of lean mass in arms (p=0,001). Also aerobic capacity, expressed as VO2 max per Kg (p=0,01) and VO2 per Kg of lean mass (p=0,02), was higher in the PCOS population. Similarly, OUES and maximal exercise capacity (expressed as METs) suggested the presence of a better fitness in the PCOS group. The analysis based on VO2 determinants (multivariate analysis) demonstrate that only having PCOS is an independent predictor of a better functional capacity (expressed as VO2max, VO2 max per Kg, VO2max per lean mass Kg and as OUES). Further, we demonstrated that VO2max per kg of lean mass is predicted by testosterone and lean mass too. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, our data could suggest the presence of greater muscle strength, higher aerobic and functional capacity in women with PCOS, despite the presence of a similar lean mass quantity and hormonal levels.
Pubblicazioni consigliate
I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
