Heart Rate Variability and Its Relationship with Hormonal Changes in Normal and High BMI Women with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome

Background: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a major contributor to female infertility and is closely linked to an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes, glucose intolerance, hyperinsulinemia, cardiovascular diseases, and hypertension.Both lean and overweight women with PCOS are susceptible to these metabolic disturbances, which play a key role in the syndrome's aetiology.Aim: This study aims to explore heart rate variability (HRV) parameters and their relationships with hormonal changes, including TSH, serum prolactin, and random blood sugar levels, in both high and normal BMI patients with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Material and Methods:The study involved 50 women aged 18 to 35 years, consisting of 22 patients with high BMI polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) defined by a BMI of 23 kg/m² or higher and 28 patients with normal BMI PCOS, whose BMI was below 23 kg/m².After the enrollment of participants from both groups, we compared various parameters, including waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), hormonal levels such as serum TSH, serum prolactin, and random blood sugar, alongside heart rate variability (HRV) metrics like SDRR, rMSSD, PNN50, NN50, LF, HF, and the LF/HF ratio .Results: Patients with high BMI and PCOS exhibited significantly elevated levels of WHR, BMI, SDRR, PNN50, LF, HF, and LF/HF ratio when compared to the normal BMI group.However, there were no notable differences in TSH, serum prolactin, random blood sugar, rMSSD, and NN50 between the two groups.Furthermore, the analysis revealed no significant correlations between the hormonal parameters and the HRV metrics.Conclusions: Heart rate variability assessments in women diagnosed with PCOS reveal a sympathovagal imbalance, marked by heightened sympathetic activity and reduced parasympathetic response.In high BMI women with PCOS, there is a notable effect on anthropometric measures such as body mass index (BMI) and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), along with HRV metrics including SDRR, rMSSD, LF, HF, and the LF/HF ratio, when compared to their normal BMI counterparts.No significant correlations were found between hormonal metrics and HRV parameters.Furthermore, our findings suggest that an increase in BMI among women with PCOS correlates with a rise in WHR, while hormonal parameters do not differ significantly between the two groups.