STUDY: Hey Cysters, do you have a BROTHER? He may be at risk...

[KatCarney]

Diabetologia. 2007 Dec

Brothers of women with polycystic ovary syndrome are characterised by impaired glucose tolerance, reduced insulin sensitivity and related metabolic defects.

Baillargeon JP, Carpentier AC.
Division of Endocrinology, Department of Medicine, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, QC, Canada. JP.Baillargeon@USherbrooke.ca

AIMS/HYPOTHESIS: Since it has been shown that polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is highly inherited and characterised by insulin resistance, we hypothesised that male siblings of PCOS women would also be insulin resistant. Thus, our aim was to assess insulin sensitivity and metabolic parameters in brothers of women with PCOS and male control individuals.

CONCLUSIONS/INTERPRETATION: Brothers of PCOS women are characterised by decreased insulin sensitivity and glucose tolerance, as well as hypercoagulability, independently of obesity. Therefore, brothers of PCOS women may have inherited the insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome typical of PCOS.

METHODS: Seventeen brothers of PCOS women and 28 male control volunteers were assessed with 75 g OGTTs and euglycaemic-hyperinsulinaemic clamps. PCOS index women were identified using criteria developed at the 1990 National Institutes of Health conference.

RESULTS: Brothers and control individuals were similar in terms of BMI, waist circumference, percentage body fat and BP. However, brothers had increased triacylglycerol (p = 0.02), plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1; p = 0.02), factor VIII (p = 0.02), 2 h glucose (p < 0.001), AUC(glucose) (p < 0.001) and AUC(insulin) (p < 0.001). Insulin sensitivity was reduced by 38% in brothers (p < 0.001), and this was primarily due to a 65% decrease in insulin-stimulated non-oxidative carbohydrate metabolism (p < 0.001). These differences remained significant after adjustment for age and BMI, except for triacylglycerol, PAI-1 and fasting glucose. The main findings also persisted after excluding individuals with impaired glucose tolerance or diabetic siblings. Significant interactions with BMI status were found for sex hormone-binding globulin, androstenedione, PAI-1 and AUC(insulin), which were significantly altered only in obese brothers (vs control individuals).

[februarystar]

YES!!! lol
I will print this off for my mum so she can take it to the doctor to get my younger brother a glucose tolerance test.
I've been telling her for a while that it wouldn't suprise me if he had 'male PCOS'. She's always been worried about his excessive thirst which alerted me to diabetes or related. Also being the baby of the family he's got away with a lot more than the rest of us which included more junk food! He loves his sugar!
While I don't advocate putting him at age 15 on a diet to lose some of his extra weight (he's still got a few years to 'grow' into it and he's very active) it would be fantastic if he could be put on the right track to prevent the complications of insulin resistance (& diabetes) later in life.

[KatCarney]

Also see this one:

J Obstet Gynaecol. 2007 Aug

To determine whether first-degree male relatives of women with polycystic ovary syndrome are at higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease and type II diabetes mellitus.

Hunter A, Vimplis S, Sharma A, Eid N, Atiomo W.
Medical School, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK.

The aim of this study was to determine whether first-degree male relatives of women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) were at increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and diabetes mellitus (type II DM). In a cross-sectional study, 60 women with PCOS and 112 controls were given a questionnaire.

The prevalence of heart disease, stroke, diabetes and associated risk factors among fathers and brothers of women with PCOS and controls, were measured. The percentage of women with PCOS with at least one brother with a risk factor for CVD was 47.5%, around twice that seen in control women (24.71%). The prevalence of heart disease, stroke and diabetes were similar in brothers of women with PCOS and controls.

In conclusion, brothers of women with PCOS may be at increased risk of CVD. They form an easily identified group, which can be targeted for primary prevention.

[lil annie]

Yes, my brother is diabetic. He was actually diagnosed before I was with PCOS.

[Arike]

My brother is diabetic, he's 22 years old, diagnosed when he was 21. He also has high cholesterol and high blood pressure I think. I just figured all those things run in our family so.... My dad had a heart attack at age 40, I was 3. but he's still around and kicking so he must be doing something right.

[shllss]

It probably won't relate to me as my brother and I have different fathers...but the man is a tank!!! Former Navy now full time work out junkie....I always know where I can find him....in a gym......LOL. This is interesting though.

[WalkingContradiction]

I have 4 brothers and among them they have 6 daughters. Maybe if I'm armed with some proof that they need to do it I can get them to go get testing done. Thank you for the info, Kat.

[Maryny]

My brother is close to being diabetic, he is seeing a dietician now because of his weight.

[Tiffers1984]

My brother is 17 and TINY! He's 5'9" and just over a 100lbs. He eats tons of junk food and isn't active uless you count playing Wii exercise. His doctor wants to put him on a weight gaining diet. Of course my sister and I are jealous of this and always claimed he was the mailman's

[ivetastedflight]

These findings scare me.

I am nearly positive that my SIL is the classic picture of PCOS. She is very heavy, has thin hair, moderate acne, excessive hair, depression and anxiety, craves carbs all the time, cannot lose weight no matter how hard she tries, and gained most of her weight very quickly.

Well, my DH, (her brother) has a large waist circumference, craves carbs, cannot lose weight that came on quickly (and he exercises and has a physical job!), and has been depressed for about 2 years.

I told him about this article, and he said he didn't want to talk about it. He is scared. I wanted to burst into tears.

Does my DD even stand a chance of escaping it?



Thanks for the article, Kat.

[one-hit_wonder]

I keep trying to force my brother to go to a doctor about this very issue, but he won't. (Scary, since Type II diabetes runs in the family.) I wish I could make him go...

[Stacie M]

My brother was dxd with type 2 diabetes when he was 27, and also has been balding for quite some time. He is my only sibling. I wasn't that surprised when he was diagnosed (about 5 yrs ago) because I already knew I had PCOS and from other studies I had read figured something like that would happen.

More interesting is the fact that neither of my parents have diabetes and my mother has absolutely no signs of PCOS. 3 out of 4 grandparents did have diabetes though. Out of 14 aunts & uncles and close to 20 first cousins, and many, many other relatives (I come from large families on both sides), I can think of two first cousins and one cousin once-removed who I suspect COULD have PCOS, but none have symptoms as severe as my brothers and mine.

I figure my parents got together and had just the right DNA for my brother and I to come out as ticking time bombs LOL!

[journey18]

I have two half brothers. (Same dad, different mums) But I don't see or speak to them anymore and haven't spoken to one of them for 8-9 years and the other one for 6-7 years.
I know one of them has a facebook account and a bebo account but I only remember it so I can contact in emergencies regarding our father, who they no longer see or speak to and who has said he wants nothing to do with either of them, even in an emergency.
What should I do? theres a lot of bad history between me and the brother with the account I know of. Should I contact him? Or not?

[splashsmama]

shllss,
I'm right there with you. I have two younger brothers (27 and 21). Both from a different father than me. Both are pillars of health. Never had to battle obesity. My 27-year-old brother just recently had his second child. He also has a 2-year-old son.

I just want to track down my birth father and smack him for giving me this. I know it had to come from him. No one else in my family suffers from this. And I know of a couple people in his family that I would be shocked if they didn't have PCOS.

[canadianmutation]

Oh not suprising at all!
My mom has always been healthy and her family line has no signs of PCOS anywhere.

My Dad on the other hand- type 2 diabeties and Estrogen positive breast cancer. His body turned his testosterone into estrogen. And his entire family has been riddled with diabetes and endocrine system oddities. Thankfully it looks like DS might have missed the medical twilight zone from me. But there's always a chance. Thanks for the articles.