Status of serum selenium and zinc in patients with the polycystic ovary syndrome with and without insulin resistance

Insulin resistance (IR) is one of the important factors associated with the clinical signs in patients with the polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). There are some studies which report a correlation between insulin resistance and trace elements. The present study primarily focuses on the investigation of serum selenium (Se) and zinc (Zn) levels as well as their relationship with insulin resistance in PCOS patients. This is a case control study. The study was conducted at Fatemeh Zahra Infertility and Reproductive Health Research Center of Babol University of Medical Sciences, Babol, Iran. This study includes 60 women with PCOS (20–40 years old) and 90 healthy women. The PCOS group was divided into two sub-groups including insulin-resistant (n = 36) and non-insulin-resistant (n = 24) groups. Fasting blood sugar, fasting insulin, insulin resistance indexes and the serum levels of Se and Zn were measured in both groups. Serum selenium levels were significantly lower in the patient group as compared with the control group (40.42 ± 21.12 VS 51.79 ± 15.65; p = .001). The mean zinc levels were also significantly lower in the PCOS women than in the controls (81.33 ± 24.28 VS 108.31 ± 63.29; p = .022). In addition, Zn levels in PCOS-IR were negatively correlated with the homeostatic model assessment for insulin resistance (r = −0.332, p = .048) and positively correlated with the glucose/insulin ratio (r = 0.354, p = .040) and insulin (r = 0.429, p = .009). The findings show decreased serum Se and Zn levels in the PCOS patients as compared to the controls. Additionally, the results confirm the correlation between zinc and insulin resistance.