Levels of Adipokines and Some Steroids During the Menstrual Cycle

Abstract

The cyclical effects of hormones during the menstrual cycle (MC) are not just responsible for driving ovulation, but also have significant influence on dietary intake and appetite, as well as psychological and behavioral changes. The aim of our study was to describe changes and relationships between the MC and selected steroids, adipokines and food intake-related hormones.Twenty-seven women with regular menstrual cycles were included in the study, and their hormonal spectrum was measured in regular intervals starting from the first day of their cycle. Classical changes in gonadotropins, estrogens and progesterone during the menstrual cycle are accompanied by less striking but significant changes in 17-hydroxyprogesterone and testosterone. No significant changes show dehydroepiandrosterone and its 7-oxygenated metabolites. Adipokines show a tendency to increase during ovulation, while ghrelin and resistin decrease. There is also a remarkable association of sex hormone-binding globulin on the day of the cycle. Our results demonstrate that changes to adipokines during the menstrual cycle are not substantial, but nonetheless can play a role in the changes of food intake described in the literature. Precise descriptions of physiological changes in healthy women are important in helping us understand the significance of the changes accompanying various pathological states.

Influence of Menstrual Cycle or Hormonal Contraceptive Phase on Energy Intake and Metabolic Hormones—A Pilot Study

“…There was a statistical trend for phase in ghrelin in NHC, where the lowest concentrations were observed at OVU. A similar non-significant decrease at mid-cycle was observed by Šramkóvá et al (2015) [ 30 ]. As ghrelin and leptin have opposite roles in the control of satiety, this trend warrants more research.…”

“…Again, it is essential to consider the methodological discrepancies between studies. In line with our methods, some researchers have assessed total ghrelin [ 30 , 31 ], while others have assessed acylated ghrelin (AG) and unacylated ghrelin (UnAG) separately [ 15 ]. AG seems to have greater significance with regards to appetite stimulation, while total ghrelin reflects mainly UnAG, representing as much as 90 % of total plasma concentration [ 34 ].…”

Variation of Leptin During Menstrual Cycle and Its Relation to the Hypothalamic–Pituitary–Gonadal (HPG) Axis: A Systematic Review

“…The selected studies included women from 14 countries: Poland, 31 Czech Republic, 28 Germany, 16 , 32–34 Saudi Arabia, 35 , 36 USA, 20 , 37 Greece, 24 Switzerland, 23 Spain, 38 Italy, 18 , 27 , 39 , 40 Austria, 41 UK, 17 Japan, 42 Sweden, 43 and Finland. 44 These studies included cycling women with a wide age range (18–44 years), and the number of cases ranged from six 17 to 259 37 women.…”

“…Of the included studies, 18 have shown significant changes in leptin level across different phases of the menstrual cycle [16][17][18][19][20]23,24,[31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39]41,43 (Table 1), while four studies reported no changes in leptin throughout the menstrual cycle 27,28,42,44 (Table 2). Most of the studies reported significant changes in leptin and showed a steady increment from the lowest level at the early follicular phase to its peak at late luteal phase-except two studies, where leptin peak was detected at the mid-cycle phase near the time of LH surge.…”

“…20 Subsequently, many studies showed inconsistent leptin behavior throughout the menstrual cycle, and some reported steady increments in leptin levels from the follicular phase to reach a peak in luteal phase, [21][22][23][24] and others showed a peak during the preovulatory phase 25 while a stable level of leptin across menstruation was also described. [26][27][28] However, this discrepancy highlights a certain role of leptin signaling during the menstrual cycle, but the mechanism of this role is still to be explored.…”