Case-control study reveals elevated leptin and uric acid linked to adiposity in PCOS, indicating metabolic traits are driven primarily by obesity rather than novel biomarkers.
Key Points
To evaluate serum levels of leptin, uric acid, and soluble neprilysin in relation to metabolic and hormonal parameters in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS/PMOS).
Conducted a case-control study of 90 women (60 diagnosed with PCOS/PMOS, divided into obese and non-obese subgroups, and 30 healthy age-matched controls).
Collected early follicular phase fasting blood samples to measure hormonal profiles, routine metabolic markers, and serum leptin and soluble neprilysin via ELISA.
Analyzed biomarker associations and diagnostic performance using ROC curves, age- and BMI-adjusted ANCOVA, and penalized LASSO logistic regression.
Leptin levels were significantly higher in the PCOS/PMOS group and peaked in obese patients (p < 0.001), whereas soluble neprilysin levels showed no significant difference among groups (p = 0.233).
ROC analysis demonstrated high discriminatory performance for waist-to-height ratio (AUC = 0.899), testosterone (AUC = 0.895), waist-to-hip ratio (AUC = 0.891), and anti-Müllerian hormone (AUC = 0.882).
Following adjustment for age and BMI, group differences for leptin and soluble neprilysin became non-significant, leaving waist-to-hip ratio and triglyceride-glucose index as the primary persistent discriminators.