Abstract
The association between subclinical hypothyroidism (SCH) and polycystic ovary
syndrome (PCOS) has been shown in many studies. These findings are still
controversial, however. It is unclear whether the co-incidence of subclinical
hypothyroidism and polycystic ovary syndrome will affect the severity of
metabolism. Therefore, we performed this meta-analysis to investigate the
association. A comprehensive search strategy was developed to obtain all
relevant studies published in PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, and Chinese
Academic Journal Full-text Database (CNKI) up to 31 December 2020. We adopted
the standardized mean difference (SMD) with 95% confidence intervals
(CI) for evaluation, and sensitivity analysis was performed. Publication bias
was analyzed and represented by a funnel plot, and funnel plot symmetry was
assessed with Egger’s test. Twenty-seven studies with 4821 participants
(1300 PCOS patients with SCH, 3521 PCOS patients without SCH) were included in
the present meta-analysis,among which 71.31% chinese patients out of the
total. The results showed that PCOS patients with SCH had higher levels of
HOMA-IR, TG, TC, LDL, FBG, FCP, PRL and lower levels of HDL, LH and T. It also
recognized the limitation of the lack of a consistent definition of
hypothyroidism in the 27 studies included. The results of this study indicated
that SCH may aggravate lipid and glucose metabolism in patients with PCOS.
Key words
subclinical hypothyroidism - polycystic ovary syndrome - meta-analysis
