Objective: To analyze the characteristics of the intestinal flora of patients with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) in reproductive age, and to explore the effect of metformin on the intestinal flora of PCOS patients.
Methods: Thirty-six PCOS patients attending Wuxi People's Hospital affiliated to Nanjing Medical University from 2019 to 2021 were selected as the study group and 35 healthy women of childbearing age during the same period as the control group, and metformin treatment was given to the PCOS patients for 6 months, and blood and fecal specimens were collected before and after treatment. 16S rDNA was used to identify the intestinal flora of the fecal specimens.
Results: (1) The α and β diversity of the intestinal flora was lower in the study group, and the abundance of Bacteroidaceae, Oscillospiraceae, Rikenellaceae, and Clostridiaceae UCG-014 was lower than that of the control group, while Enterobacteriaceae was more abundant, and after correction for BMI, there was still a significant difference between Bacteroidaceae and Enterobacteriaceae. (2) After metformin treatment, and the abundance of Bacteroidaceae in the study group increased, while the abundance of Peptostreptococcaceae and Clostridiaceae decreased. (3) Correlation analyses showed that the abundance of Bacteroidaceae was negatively correlated with testosterone, antimüllerian hormone, and lipids; the abundance of Enterobacteriaceae was positively correlated with testosterone, antimüllerian hormone, blood glucose and insulin. (4) Changes in the abundance of Bacteroidaceae before and after treatment with metformin in the study group were negatively correlated with changes in total cholesterol; changes in the abundance of Peptostreptococcaceae were positively correlated with changes in total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol.
Conclusion: Intestinal flora disorders exist in PCOS patients, and metformin has an ameliorating effect on intestinal flora disorders in PCOS patients.
L. Xu: None. C. Jiang: None.
