What is already known
Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a hormonal condition that affects women of reproductive age and often leads to complications such as diabetes, obesity and dyslipidemia — or an abnormal amount of fats in the blood. Metabolic issues in women with PCOS have been linked to gut microbial imbalances, but the exact relationship between gut bacteria and dyslipidemia in PCOS is not well understood.
What this research adds
By examining differences in the gut microbiota among women with PCOS and dyslipidemia, women with only PCOS and healthy women, researchers have found that women with only PCOS had a lower abundance of Proteobacteria, while those with PCOS and dyslipidemia had a higher abundance of Bacteroidota. In women with PCOS and dyslipidemia, Clostridium_sensu_stricto_1 was more abundant whereas Faecalibacterium and Holdemanella were less abundant than in women with PCOS only. Women with PCOS and dyslipidemia also had altered metabolic pathways, including those for fats.
Conclusions
The findings suggest that the gut microbiota of women with PCOS and dyslipidemia differs from that of women with PCOS only and healthy women. These differences may inform new approaches for managing fat levels in women with the condition.
Polycystic ovary syndrome, or PCOS, is estimated to affect up to 15% of women of reproductive age worldwide, but the condition’s prevalence can vary. Now, new research suggests that that the gut microbiota of women with PCOS and dyslipidemia differs from that of women with only PCOS and healthy women.
The findings, published in BMC Microbiology, indicate that these differences may inform new approaches for managing fat levels in women with PCOS.
PCOS is characterized by polycystic ovaries and excess male sex hormones, and it often leads to complications such as diabetes, obesity and dyslipidemia — or an abnormal amount of fats in the blood.
Previous studies have shown that women with PCOS have gut microbial imbalances that may affect lipid levels. However, the exact relationship between gut bacteria and dyslipidemia in PCOS is not well understood. So, researchers led by Tianjin Yang at Anhui Medical University in Hefei, China, set out to study the gut microbiota of women with PCOS, including those who also had dyslipidemia.
Microbiota alterations
The researchers recruited 18 women with PCOS only, 18 women with both PCOS and dyslipidemia, and 16 healthy women. As expected, women with PCOS and dyslipidemia had higher levels of total cholesterol and triglycerides compared to both healthy women and those with only PCOS.
The team found no significant differences in microbial diversity among the three groups. However, both women with only PCOS and those with PCOS and dyslipidemia showed a decrease in Proteobacteria compared to healthy women.
Women with only PCOS had a lower abundance of Proteobacteria, while those with PCOS and dyslipidemia had a higher abundance of Bacteroidota. Clostridium_sensu_stricto_1, which has been linked to metabolic disorders such as diabetes and obesity, was more abundant in women with PCOS and dyslipidemia, whereas Faecalibacterium and Holdemanella were less abundant in these women compared to those with PCOS only.
Metabolic differences
Both women with PCOS only and those with PCOS and dyslipidemia had altered metabolic pathways, the researchers found. In particular, women with PCOS showed increased carbohydrate metabolism and decreased amino acid and fat metabolism compared to healthy women. What’s more, women with PCOS and dyslipidemia had lower amino acid and fat metabolism compared to those with PCOS only.
The results suggest that microbial imbalances may aggravate problems with fat metabolism in PCOS, the researchers say. However, since several factors influence the gut microbiota, bigger studies are needed to validate the findings.
Understanding how alterations of the gut microbiota affect dyslipidemia in women with PCOS, they add, “could help us fully understand the gut microbial pathogenesis of PCOS and promote its personalized medicine.”
