Serum Fetuin-A levels were increased and associated with insulin resistance in women with polycystic ovary syndrome

Abstract

Background Insulin resistance (IR) is a common characteristic in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). It has been reported that circulating Fetuin-A levels were associated with IR and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). However, previous reports on changes in circulating Fetuin-A concentrations in women with PCOS have been inconsistent. Methods 207 subjects were screened for PCOS according to the diagnostic guideline of the Rotterdam consensus criterion. Serum Fetuin-A levels were measured using an ELISA kit. An independent t- test or Nonparametric tests was used to detect differences between PCOS and control groups. The association of the serum Fetuin-A with other parameters was examined by spearman’s correlation analysis. Results Our findings show that circulating Fetuin-A concentration ranged from 196.6 to 418.2 µg/L for most women without PCOS (95%). Women with PCOS have higher circulating Fetuin-A levels than healthy women (437.9 ± 119.3 vs. 313.8 ± 60.5 μg/L; p < 0.01). Serum Fetuin-A was positively correlated with BMI, WHR, TG, TC, LDL-C, HOMA-IR, LH, T and DHEA-S. Multivariate regression analysis showed that WHR, TG, HOMA-IR and DHEA-S were independent predictors of the levels of circulating Fetuin-A. Binary logistic regression revealed that serum Fetuin-A was associated with the .occurrence of PCOS. In addition, our ROC curve analysis found that the cutoff values for Fetuin-A to predict PCOS and IR were 366.3 and 412.6 µg/L. ConclusionBlood Fetuin-A may be a useful biomarker for screening women for PCOS and IR.