Serological markers of autoimmunity in women with polycystic ovary syndrome

Abstract

In the present study, we evaluate the serum level of common autoimmuno-logic markers in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and study their relationship with hormonal parameters. The study was an observational case-control study, done in a Tertiary referral hospital, the study included 50 women with polycystic ovary syndrome and 50 matched control. Serum levels of Antinuclear Antibody (ANA) and anti-double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) were significantly higher in polycystic ovary syndrome women compared to control. Also, luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), and LH/FSH ratio were significantly higher in polycystic ovary syndrome women compared to control. dsDNA had excellent ability to differentiate PCOS from control (AUC=0.901) while ANA had good discrimination ability (AUC=0.809). There was a significant direct relationship between ANA, dsDNA, and TSH with FSH in PCOS women, also a significant direct relationship between ANA and TSH with LH, while DsDNA did not correlate with LH. In conclusion, there is a clear relationship between immunological markers (ANA, dsDNA) with polycystic ovary syndrome in various components of the disease, dsDNA offer better ability than ANA as a predictor of PCOS, indicating that dsDNA can be used as a non-invasive diagnostic tool for PCOS.