Telomere length in women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome in the perimenopausal

Abstract Introduction: Interest in polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) has been increasing, especially after discovering that it involves much more than the reproductive system. Objective:Analyze telomere length in perimenopausal women with PCOS. Study design: case-control. Methods:The volunteers were divided into PCOS and control groups comprising 200 women in each group. All women were evaluated, including a blood measurement and analysis of leukocyte telomere length. Results:When comparing the PCOS and control groups regarding age, body mass index, waist, hip, waist-to-hip ratio, pregnancy, birth, abortion, 17-OHP, testosterone, TSH, and insulin, no differences were found. Women in the PCOS group had higher Ferriman scores than the control group (p < 0.01). The mean telomere length in both groups was 0.7 (± 0.23), with no statistically significant difference between the two groups (p = 0.62). Body mass index was the only characteristic negatively correlated with telomere length (p = 0.0051). Conclusions: A future analysis of telomere length in women of different ages after exposure to the long-term metabolic consequences of PCOS is suggested.