• Qinglan Qu, Dongmei Zhao, Fengrong Zhang, Hongchu Bao, and Qiuhua Yang.
• 1 Department of Reproductive Medicine, Yantai Yuhuangding Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, Yantai, Shandong, China.
• J. Int. Med. Res. 2017 Feb 1; 45 (1): 193-202.

AbstractObjective Betatrophin is a newly identified circulating protein that is significantly associated with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), adiposity, and metabolic syndrome. The aim of this study was to investigate whether betatrophin levels and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) were associated. Methods Circulating betatrophin levels were measured in 162 patients with PCOS and 156 matched control females using specific enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kits. Correlations between betatrophin levels and PCOS incidence as well as multiple key endocrine PCOS parameters were analyzed using multiple statistical methods. Results Betatrophin levels were significantly increased in patients with PCOS (685.3 ± 27.7 vs. 772.6 ± 42.5 pg/ml). When sub-grouping all investigated subjects according to the presence of insulin resistance, women with PCOS and insulin resistance exhibited markedly higher betatrophin concentrations. Furthermore, betatrophin levels were significantly correlated with fasting insulin levels and homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance only in females with PCOS ( r = 0.531 and r = 0.628, respectively). Conclusion We provide the first report that betatrophin is strongly associated with PCOS. This study suggests that betatrophin may potentially serve as an independent predictor for the development of PCOS in at-risk women, especially those with insulin resistance.

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