Polycystic ovary syndrome not associated with hidradenitis suppurativa severity
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Key takeaways:
- Women with hidradenitis suppurativa are twice as likely to have polycystic ovary syndrome.
- Polycystic ovary syndrome is not statistically associated with increased hidradenitis suppurativa disease severity.
NEW ORLEANS — While prevalent among women with hidradenitis suppurativa, polycystic ovary syndrome is not associated with increased hidradenitis suppurativa disease severity, according to a poster presented here.
“Since polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is typically associated with hyperandrogenism and shows increased frequency in hidradenitis suppurativa, we sought to explore the impact of PCOS on [hidradenitis suppurativa (HS)] severity,” Steven R. Cohen, MD, MPH, chief of dermatology at Montefiore Medical Center and professor of dermatology at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, told Healio.
This retrospective chart review, which was presented at the American Academy of Dermatology Annual Meeting, included 112 women undergoing care at the Einstein/Montefiore HS Center from 2017 to 2022, comparing those with PCOS and HS (n = 55) with those with only HS (n = 57).
Women with HS are more than twice as likely to have PCOS (2.14; 95% CI, 2.04-2.24) compared with women who do not have HS; however, results showed that there are no significant differences in disease severity and testosterone levels between women with HS and PCOS and those with HS only.
Patients in the non-PCOS group and PCOS group reported a maximum Hidradenitis Suppurativa Physician Global Assessment scale score of 2.455 and 2.396, respectively. Hemoglobin A1C levels were also comparable at 5.521 in the non-PCOS group vs. 5.775 in the PCOS group. The maximum numeric pain rating scale scores (3.509 and 4.130) and testosterone levels (38.6 and 46.78) also exhibited no statistically significant differences between groups.
Additionally, results showed that the type and frequency of HS therapies that were prescribed for patients with vs. without PCOS were comparable, with the most common prescriptions including topical antibiotics, oral antibiotics, spironolactone and intralesional triamcinolone.
“Our findings suggest that PCOS does not forecast a worse prognosis in the severity of HS,” Cohen said. “While anecdotal evidence that anti-androgen therapies (spironolactone, finasteride, ‘oral’ contraceptives) should remain an important aspect of our treatment algorithm, this finding guides our focus to more effective antibiotic and anti-inflammatory medications.”