Journal
CLINICAL RHEUMATOLOGY
Volume 40, Issue 12, Pages 4837-4843Publisher
SPRINGER LONDON LTD
DOI: 10.1007/s10067-021-05850-0
Keywords
Androgen; Autoimmune disease; Polycystic ovary syndrome; Rheumatic disease; Rheumatoid arthritis; Systemic sclerosis
Categories
Ask authors/readers for more resources
This study revealed that certain rheumatic diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis, systemic sclerosis, and undifferentiated connective tissue disease, are more prevalent in PCOS patients compared to non-PCOS individuals. Additionally, PCOS patients also have a higher frequency of osteoarthritis. These findings provide important insights into the association between autoimmunity and PCOS.
Background Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) causes anovulation and hyperandrogenism. Hormonal imbalance is known to contribute to systemic autoimmune diseases. Objective To examine the frequency of certain rheumatic diseases in PCOS. Methods This retrospective study utilized and analyzed electronic medical records from January 2004 through February 2020. A diagnosis of PCOS and specified rheumatic diseases was searched using ICD-9 and ICD-10 codes. A total of 754 adult patients with PCOS and 1,508 age- and body mass index-matched patients without PCOS were included. Frequencies of the rheumatic diseases were compared between PCOS and non-PCOS subjects or literature data. Results The prevalence of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) was found to be 2.25% (17/737) in the PCOS patients, numerically higher than 1.26% (19/1489) in the non-PCOS subjects. The difference was significant with a confidence level of 90% (1.04-3.15) but not at 95% with an odds ratio of 1.808 (95% CI = 0.934-3.4, p = 0.0747). When compared with the literature data from the US female population, the prevalence of RA in PCOS patients was significantly higher (2.25% vs. 1.40%, p < 0.0001). Among the autoimmune diseases examined, both systemic sclerosis (0.40% vs. 0.0%, p = 0.0369) and undifferentiated connective tissue disease (0.53% vs. 0.0%, p = 0.0123) were significantly more frequent in the PCOS patients than the non-PCOS. Additionally, PCOS patients had a significantly higher frequency of osteoarthritis than non-PCOS patients (5.44% vs. 2.92%, p = 0.0030) with an odds ratio of 1.913 (95% CI = 1.239-2.955). nConclusion We have shown unprecedentedly that certain rheumatic diseases are more prevalent in PCOS. This study provides important insight into autoimmunity in association with PCOS.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available