Sleep and cardiometabolic function in obese adolescent girls with polycystic ovary syndrome

Objective: To compare the polysomnography findings and cardiometabolic function among adolescent girls with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and matched female and male controls. Method: Retrospective chart review of electronic medical records of 28 girls with PCOS (age: 16.8 ± 1.9. years, body mass index (BMI) Z-score 2.4 ± 0.4), 28 control females (age: 17.1 ± 1.8, BMI Z-score 2.4 ± 0.3) and 28 control males (age: 16.6 ± 1.6, BMI Z-score 2.5 ± 0.5) in a tertiary care centre. Results: The prevalence of obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) was higher in girls with PCOS compared to control females (16/28 (57%) vs. 4/28(14.3%), p<0.01); however, it was comparable to that of the control males (16/28(57%) vs. 21/28(75%), p=0.4). Girls with PCOS had a significantly higher prevalence of insulin resistance compared to control females and control males (20/28 (71.4%) vs. 9/22 (41.0%) (p=0.04) vs. 8/23 (34.8%) (p=0.01). Among girls with PCOS, those with OSA had significantly higher proportions of metabolic syndrome (MetS) (9/16 (56.3%) vs. 1/12 (8.3%) p=0.03), higher insulin resistance (14/16 (87.5%) vs. 6/12 (50%), p=0.04), elevated daytime systolic blood pressure (128.4 ± 12.8 vs. 115.6 ± 11.4, p<0.01), lower high-density lipoprotein (HDL) (38.6 ± 8.7 vs. 49 ± 10.9, p=0.01) and elevated triglycerides (TG) (149.7 ± 87.7 vs. 93.3 ± 25.8, p=0.03) compared to those without OSA. Conclusions: We report a higher prevalence of OSA and metabolic dysfunction in a selected group of obese girls with PCOS referred with sleep-related complaints compared to BMI-matched control girls without PCOS. We also report higher prevalence of cardiometabolic dysfunction in girls with PCOS and OSA compared to girls with PCOS without OSA.