Plasma visfatin and apelin levels in adolescents with polycystic ovary syndrome.

Background: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common endocrine disorder that usually begins during adolescence. Patients may have severe metabolic disorders.

Objective: To investigate the levels of visfatin and apelin in adolescent girls with PCOS and to explore the importance of visfatin and apelin in glucose and lipid metabolism.

Methods: A total of 88 girls (aged 12-20 years) were prospectively and consecutively recruited during two years for the PCOS group ( = 44) and the control group ( = 44). Serum visfatin, apelin and other metabolic parameters were measured. Receiver operator characteristics (ROC) curve analysis was performed to reveal the diagnostic potential.

Results: Visfatin, apelin and indicators of glucose and lipid-metabolism were not different for PCOS patients compared to control. However, insulin resistance (IR) in the PCOS-group was more frequent ( < 0.05). Visfatin in non-IR patients was higher than in IR-patients in the PCOS-group ( < 0.05). However, there was no difference in apelin levels between IR and non-IR patients in the PCOS-group ( > 0.05). ROC-curve analyses demonstrated that the optimal value of visfatin for predicting IR in PCOS-patients was 7.14 ng/mL, with 78.1% sensitivity and 68.7% specificity. In the PCOS-group, visfatin was positively correlated with high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), and negatively correlated with HOMA-IR, apolipoprotein B (Apo-B), cholesterol (CHO), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and CHO/HDL-C ratio ( < 0.05). Apelin had no correlation with all indices ( > 0.05).

Conclusions: Higher visfatin levels may prevent IR in adolescent PCOS patients, showing a positive predictive value for IR and also reflecting a beneficial effect on lipids. It is a possible protective factor at certain stages of metabolic syndrome.