Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) is estimated to affect up to 20% of women. PCOS is associated with insulin resistance and cardiovascular (CV) risk factors. We aimed to evaluate the impact of race/ethnicity on the prevalence of CV risk factors and subclinical predictors of CV events. DESIGN: Cross-sectional analysis of data collected by the Dallas Heart Study, an urban, population-based cohort oversampled for blacks. PATIENTS: A previously described cohort of women with PCOS and control subjects of the same racial/ethnic group, matched for age and body mass index. MEASUREMENTS: Hormonal and clinical measures associated with PCOS and CV risk factors. RESULTS: The study included 117 women with PCOS and 204 controls. Women with PCOS had significant differences across racial/ethnic groups in the prevalence of hypertension, hypercholesterolaemia, hypertriglyceridaemia and impaired fasting glucose (P < 0·05). Controls showed significant racial/ethnic differences in the prevalence of hypertension and impaired fasting glucose (P < 0·05). The odds of hypertension were significantly greater among women with PCOS than controls after adjusting for race/ethnicity (odds ratio, 1·50 [95% CI, 1·03-2·30]; P = 0·04). However, we did not see an interaction of race/ethnicity that significantly changed CV risk factor prevalence between PCOS and controls. In addition, subclinical measures of CV disease were not different between women with PCOS vs controls, even among hypertensive women. CONCLUSIONS: Race/ethnicity affects the prevalence of CV risk factors for women with and without PCOS. However, race/ethnicity does not interact with PCOS to additionally increase CV risk factor prevalence or subclinical CV disease.