Endocrine disruptor may play role in pathophysiology of PCOS

The Endocrine Society 92nd Annual Meeting

SAN DIEGO — Women with polycystic ovary syndrome appear to have higher blood levels of bisphenol A, a known endocrine-disrupting chemical that is used primarily in the synthesis of polycarbonate plastics, a new study found.

Levels of bisphenol A (BPA) were significantly higher in lean women (1.12 vs. 0.70; P<.0007) and obese women (0.97 vs. 0.08; P=.044) with PCOS compared with healthy women.

Presence of the endocrine disruptor was also associated with higher levels of testosterone and androstenedione in these women, data further revealed.

Evanthia Diamanti-Kandarakis, MD, PhD, professor of medicine and endocrinology at the University of Athens Medical School, Greece, acknowledged that these data are preliminary.

“We have to be very careful how we interpret these data. There is an indication that suggests a potential interaction of this endocrine disruptor in PCOS women,” she said at a press conference. “This remains to be corroborated in larger studies and may be proven to have an impact on PCOS pathophysiology.”

For the study, researchers studied 71 women with PCOS and 100 healthy women, who served as controls, and divided them into subgroups matched by age and body composition.

Analysis revealed 60% higher blood levels of BPA among lean women with PCOS and 30% higher levels among obese women with PCOS compared with healthy women.

Although BPA is a weak estrogen, excessive androgens, as it occurs in women with PCOS, interfere with BPA detoxification by the liver, contributing to accumulation of BPA blood levels, Diamanti-Kandarakis told Endocrine Today.

"On the other hand, BPA may aggravate hyperandrogenemia in these women by stimulating their predisposed ovaries to secrete more androgens and therefore worsen their hormonal status and possibly play a role in the pathophysiology of the syndrome," she said. – by Katie Kalvaitis

These human studies are very important. What one can take home from these studies are correlations between higher levels of BPA and PCOS, but you cannot take away a cause-and-effect relationship. Some animal studies have shown links between endocrine-disrupting chemical exposure and the development of PCOS-like syndromes. If we could do an experiment in humans, which we obviously cannot because it would be unethical, we would likely be able to prove a cause-and-effect relationship in humans as well. These are really important studies on endocrine-disrupting chemicals, and clinical types of studies, such as this, are adding much more information to the current knowledge.

– Andrea C. Gore, PhD

Professor of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Texas at Austin

For more information:

Diamanti-Kandarakis E. P2-395. Presented at: The Endocrine Society 92nd Annual Meeting and Expo; June 19-22, 2010; San Diego.