Exp Clin Endocrinol Diabetes 2007; 115 - P01_058
DOI: 10.1055/s-2007-972314

FABP-A correlates with body fat mass in PCOS women

M Möhlig 1, E Ghadamgahi 2, MO Weickert 1, AM Arafat 2, J Spranger 1, AFH Pfeiffer 1, C Schöfl 2
  • 1German Institute of Human Nutrition Potsdam-Rehbrücke, Department of Clinical Nutrition, Nuthetal, Germany
  • 2Charité-University Medicine Berlin, Department of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Nutrition, Berlin, Germany

Objectives: Many women with the polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) are obese and insulin resistant. Adiopse-tissue derived factors might link obesity with insulin resistance. One of these factors might be the adipocyte-specific fatty acid-binding protein (FABP-A), which has been shown to correlate with obesity in humans. We therefore investigated a potential association of FABP-A to anthropometric parameters and insulin resistance in PCOS women.

Methods: PCOS was defined according to the Rotterdam criteria. Insulin resistance was quantified by HOMA %S using the HOMA-CIGMA-2 program. BMI was assessed and the fat mass was quantified by the DEXA method. FABP-A was measured in plasma with an ELISA (BioVendor). Pearson correlations and linear regression analyses were calculated using SPSS.

Results: FABP-A plasma levels correlated with BMI (r=0.73, p<0.001) and DEXA fat mass (r=0.75, p<0.001). Furthermore, there was an inverse correlation with HOMA %S (r=-0.55, p<0.001). DEXA fat mass and age explained 52%, BMI and age 48%, and FABP-A and age 37% of the variation of HOMA %S. FABP-A did not improve the associations of DEXA fat mass or BMI with insulin resistance.

Conclusion: FABP-A plasma concentrations correlate with BMI, fat mass, and insulin resistance in PCOS women. From a statistical point of view FABP-A does not add any additional information to the associations between BMI or fat mass and insulin resistance. However, this does not rule out that FABP-A is a molecular link between obesity and insulin resistance in PCOS women.