Key result
PCOS linked to lower baroreflex sensitivity, driven by metabolic status rather than PCOS itself.
Why the study?
Impaired autonomic function has been reported in younger women with PCOS, but whether PCOS is associated with impaired cardiac autonomic function independent of metabolic and hormonal status in their late reproductive years was unknown.
Is polycystic ovary syndrome associated with impaired cardiac autonomic function in late reproductive-aged women?
Population
Women with PCOS symptoms (n=125) or formal diagnosis (n=181) and controls without PCOS (n=1577)
Comparison
PCOS symptoms or diagnosis vs women without PCOS symptoms or diagnosis
Design
Prospective general-community birth cohort study
Follow-up
Through the age of 46
Authors
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Metabolic factors, not PCOS itself, associate with reduced vagal tone at age 46; leaves open whether PCOS confers independent autonomic risk.
Cohort (n=1,883)
Is polycystic ovary syndrome associated with impaired cardiac autonomic function in late reproductive-aged women?
Absolute Event Rate: 6.13% vs 6.99%
p-value: p=0.036
Late reproductive-aged women with PCOS display impaired cardiac autonomic function, which is primarily driven by concurrent metabolic abnormalities rather than hyperandrogenemia or PCOS itself.
Ollila et al. (2019) conducted a cohort in Polycystic ovary syndrome (n=1,883). Polycystic ovary syndrome vs. Women without PCOS symptoms or diagnosis was evaluated on Heart rate variability parameters and baroreflex sensitivity (BRS) (p=0.036). Polycystic ovary syndrome at age 46 was associated with lower baroreflex sensitivity (6.13 vs 6.99 ms/mm Hg, p=0.036), though this impairment was driven by metabolic status rather than PCOS per se.
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