Hypertension in women with polycystic ovary syndrome: prevalence and associated cardiovascular risk factors

Objective: To determine the prevalence of hypertension in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Study design: Women with PCOS (n = 3396) and controls (n = 1891) from a Han Chinese population were analysed retrospectively in terms of ovarian appearance on ultrasound, glucose tolerance test, hormones, lipoproteins, anthropomorphic measurements and blood pressure. Results: The prevalence of hypertension was 19.2% in the women with PCOS, which was much higher than that in the controls (11.9%). After matching for body mass index, the hypertensive PCOS group had higher glucose, insulin, homeostatic model assessment (HOMA-IR) and lipid levels than the normotensive PCOS group; these differences were significant (p < 0.05). Conclusions: Hypertensive PCOS patients had higher lipid, insulin and glucose levels than normotensive PCOS patients. It is likely that the incidence of long-term complications will be higher among the former group. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.