Searchable abstracts of presentations at key conferences in endocrinology
Endocrine Abstracts (2023) 94 OC4.1 | DOI: 10.1530/endoabs.94.OC4.1

1Medical Research Council London Institute of Medical Sciences (MRC LMS), London, United Kingdom. 2University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom. 3Disciplina de Endocrinologia e Metabologia, Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil. 4University of Groningen, Bernoulli Institute for Mathematics, Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence, Gronigen, Netherlands. 5Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Endocrinology Research Group, Department of Medicine, Dublin, Ireland. 6Medical University of Graz, Division of Endocrinology and Diabetology, Department of Internal Medicine, Graz, Austria. 7Wythenshawe Hospital, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, Department of Clinical Biochemistry, Manchester, United Kingdom. 8University of Oxford, Big Data Institute, Oxford, United Kingdom. 9King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Department of Endocrinology, London, United Kingdom. 10Queen Elizabeth Hospital, University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, Department of Endocrinology, Birmingham, United Kingdom. 11Cardiff University, Neuroscience and Mental Health Research Institute, School of Medicine, Cardiff, United Kingdom. 12Birmingham Women’s Hospital, Birmingham Women’s and Children’s Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Birmingham, United Kingdom. 13Imperial College London, Department of Metabolism, Digestion and Reproduction, London, United Kingdom. 14University of Warwick, Warwick Medical School, Coventry, United Kingdom. 15King’s College London, Obesity, Type 2 Diabetes and Immunometabolism Research Group, Faculty of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Medicine & Sciences, School of Life Course Sciences, London, United Kingdom. 16University of Birmingham, Institute of Applied Health Research, Birmingham, United Kingdom. 17National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Birmingham Biomedical Research Centre, Birmingham, United Kingdom. 18Bayer AG, Berlin, Germany. 19Imperial College London, Institute of Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, London, United Kingdom


Introduction: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) affects 10% of women and is associated with a 2-3fold risk of type 2 diabetes (T2D), hypertension, fatty liver and cardiovascular disease. Androgen excess has been implicated as a major contributor to metabolic risk in PCOS. We aimed to identify PCOS sub-types with distinct androgen profiles and compare their cardiometabolic risk.

Methods: We cross-sectionally studied 488 treatment-naïve women with PCOS from UK & Ireland, Austria and Brazil (Age 28[24-32] years; BMI 27.5[22.4-34.6] kg/m2). Standardised assessments included bloods before and during 120min oral glucose tolerance test. We quantified 11-androgenic serum steroids by tandem mass spectrometry, followed by unsupervised k-means clustering of steroid data and statistical comparison of differences in clinical phenotype and metabolic parameters.

Results: Machine learning identified three distinct PCOS subgroups characterised by gonadal-derived androgen excess (GAE; 21.5% of women; lead steroids testosterone, dihydrotestosterone), adrenal-derived androgen excess (AAE; 21.7%; 11-ketotestosterone, 11-hydroxytestosterone) and comparably mild androgen excess (MAE; 56.8%), with similar age and BMI. Compared to GAE and MAE, the AAE cluster had the highest rates of hirsutism (76.4% vs. 67.6% vs. 59.9%) and alopecia (32.1% vs. 14.3% vs. 21.7%). The AAE cluster had the highest HOMA-IR and lowest Matsuda insulin sensitivity index (all P<0.01) and a 2-3fold higher incidence of impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) and newly diagnosed T2D. We achieved recruitment of 27% non-white women to the UK & Ireland cohort (n =208), with South Asian women more likely to be in the AAE cluster compared to white women (59% vs. 35%).

Conclusion: Unsupervised cluster analysis revealed three PCOS subtypes with distinct androgen excess profiles. The AAE cluster was characterised by highest insulin resistance, IGT and T2D, implicating 11-oxygenated androgens as drivers of metabolic risk. These results provide proof-of-principle for a novel metabolic risk prediction tool in PCOS that could guide future preventative and therapeutic strategies.

Volume 94

Society for Endocrinology BES 2023

Glasgow, UK
13 Nov 2023 - 15 Nov 2023

Society for Endocrinology 

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