Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

Type 1 diabetes mellitus and polycystic ovary syndrome

Nature Reviews Endocrinology volume 17, pages 701–702 (2021)Cite this article

Subjects

Up to one in four women with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) also have polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Under subcutaneous insulin administration, systemic hyperinsulinism might trigger PCOS in women predisposed to the condition. However, very little is known about the long-term consequences of androgen excess in women with T1DM, and management guidelines are lacking.

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), a heterogeneous endocrine disorder characterized by a combination of androgen excess, ovulatory dysfunction and polycystic ovarian morphology, is frequently accompanied by abdominal adiposity, insulin resistance and compensatory endogenous hyperinsulinism, as well as the metabolic comorbidities of these conditions1.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Get just this article for as long as you need it

$39.95

Learn more

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

References

  1. Escobar-Morreale, H. F. Polycystic ovary syndrome: definition, aetiology, diagnosis and treatment. Nat. Rev. Endocrinol. 14, 270–284 (2018).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Escobar-Morreale, H. F. et al. High prevalence of the polycystic ovary syndrome and hirsutism in women with type 1 diabetes mellitus. J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab. 85, 4182–4187 (2000).

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Asuncion, M. et al. A prospective study of the prevalence of the polycystic ovary syndrome in unselected Caucasian women from Spain. J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab. 85, 2434–2438 (2000).

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Roldan, B. et al. Identification of the source of androgen excess in hyperandrogenic type 1 diabetic patients. Diabetes Care 24, 1297–1299 (2001).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Escobar-Morreale, H. F. & Roldán-Martín, M. B. Type 1 diabetes and polycystic ovary syndrome: systematic review and meta-analysis. Diabetes Care 39, 639–648 (2016).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Yildiz, B. O., Bozdag, G., Yapici, Z., Esinler, I. & Yarali, H. Prevalence, phenotype and cardiometabolic risk of polycystic ovary syndrome under different diagnostic criteria. Hum. Reprod. 27, 3067–3073 (2012).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Dunaif, A. Insulin resistance and the polycystic ovary syndrome: mechanism and implications for pathogenesis. Endocr. Rev. 18, 774–800 (1997).

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Escobar-Morreale, H. F. et al. Metabolic heterogeneity in polycystic ovary syndrome is determined by obesity: plasma metabolomic approach using GC-MS. Clin. Chem. 58, 999–1009 (2012).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Pozzilli, P. & Buzzetti, R. A new expression of diabetes: double diabetes. Trends Endocrinol. Metab. 18, 52–57 (2007).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Xu, G. et al. Prevalence of diagnosed type 1 and type 2 diabetes among US adults in 2016 and 2017: population based study. BMJ 362, k1497 (2018).

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the support of grants PIE1600050, PI1801122 and PI2100116 from Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation. Instituto de Salud Carlos III is cofinanced by the European Development Regional Fund ‘A way to achieve Europe’. CIBERDEM and IRYCIS are also initiatives of Instituto de Salud Carlos III.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Endocrinology and Nutrition, Hospital Universitario Ramón y Cajal, Madrid, Spain

    Héctor F. Escobar-Morreale, Ane Bayona, Lía Nattero-Chávez & Manuel Luque-Ramírez

  2. University of Alcalá, Madrid, Spain

    Héctor F. Escobar-Morreale & Manuel Luque-Ramírez

  3. Instituto Ramón y Cajal de Investigación Sanitaria IRYCIS, Madrid, Spain

    Héctor F. Escobar-Morreale, Ane Bayona, Lía Nattero-Chávez & Manuel Luque-Ramírez

  4. Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red Diabetes y Enfermedades Metabólicas Asociadas CIBERDEM, Madrid, Spain

    Héctor F. Escobar-Morreale, Ane Bayona, Lía Nattero-Chávez & Manuel Luque-Ramírez

Authors
  1. Héctor F. Escobar-Morreale
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Ane Bayona
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Lía Nattero-Chávez
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Manuel Luque-Ramírez
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Héctor F. Escobar-Morreale.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Additional information

Related links

The Accu-Chek DiaPort system: https://www.accu-chek.de/de/diaport/index.html

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Escobar-Morreale, H.F., Bayona, A., Nattero-Chávez, L. et al. Type 1 diabetes mellitus and polycystic ovary syndrome. Nat Rev Endocrinol 17, 701–702 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41574-021-00576-0

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41574-021-00576-0

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing