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Endocrine Abstracts (2023) 93 OC36 | DOI: 10.1530/endoabs.93.OC36

1Division of Endocrinology and Diabetes Prevention and Care, Irccs Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria DI Bologna, Italy, Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences (Dimec), Alma Mater Studiorum, University of Bologna, Italy, Umbertide, Italy; 2Division of Endocrinology and Diabetes Prevention and Care, Irccs Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria DI Bologna, Italy., Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences (Dimec), Alma Mater Studiorum, University of Bologna, Italy; 3Center for Applied Biomedical Research, Dept. Of Medical and Surgical Sciences, Alma Mater Studiorum – Bologna University, Bologna, Italy, Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences (Dimec), Alma Mater Studiorum, University of Bologna, Italy; 4Unit of Cardiology, Department of Specialist, Diagnostic and Experimental Medicine, Alma Mater Studiorum, University of Bologna, Italy, Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences (Dimec), Alma Mater Studiorum, University of Bologna, Italy; 5St. Orsola General Hospital, Internal Medicin/Endocr Unit, Bologna, Italy; 6Division of Endocrinology and Diabetes Prevention and Care, Irccs Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria DI Bologna, Italy., Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences (Dimec), Alma Mater Studiorum, University of Bologna, Italy, Italy.


Background: Many questions concerning polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) remain unsolved, such as the long-term evolution of cardiovascular (CV) risk markers and the risk for CV events.

Methods: A total of 119 PCOS patients diagnosed in 2009 by NIH criteria at our Unit were evaluated at baseline for cardiovascular risk markers (hypertension, diabetes mellitus-DM, dyslipidaemia, obesity, carotid intima media thickness-cIMT, and epicardial fat thickness-EFT) and cardiovascular events. All subjects were subsequently reevaluated between 2020 and 2021.

Results: Participants mean age was 39.9±7.6 years at baseline and 51.9±7.6 years at the end of the study, with a prevalence of menopausal state of 6.1% and 39.3%, respectively. At baseline, no major or minor CV events were detected, but 2 cases of angina pectoris (1.7%), 1 case of transient ischaemic attack (0.8%), 3 cases of arterial revascularization (2.5%), and 1 case of cardiac insufficiency (0.8%) were documented at the end of the study. Prevalence of hypertension, type 2 DM, dyslipidaemia, and obesity were initially 27.2%, 12.2%, 59.0% and 32.1%, and 44.4%, 18.6%, 87.2% and 47.2% at final reevaluation (P<0.001, P=0.065, P<0.001, P<0.05 vs. baseline, respectively). cIMT was significantly increased at final examination (0.58±0.16 mm vs. 0.81±0.27 mm, P<0.001), and the % of patients with cIMT≥ 1 mm or with carotid plaques passed from 1% to 26.4% (P<0.001). In contrast, a significant decrease in EFT was detected from baseline to the end of the study (0.86±0.35 cm and 0.41±0.23 cm, P<0.001).

Conclusions: This cohort study shows that PCOS is indeed characterized by a high prevalence of cardiovascular risk markers, with a tendency to increase over time; nonetheless, not all cardiovascular risk markers worsen steadily, with some interesting beneficial variations occuring in the late reproductive or early post-menopausal years.

Volume 93

ESE Young Endocrinologists and Scientists (EYES) 2023

European Society of Endocrinology 

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