Research

Hormonal

Hyperinsulinemia in obese PCOS women is primarily driven by reduced hepatic insulin extraction and skeletal muscle insulin resistance, rather than solely by increased pancreatic insulin secretion.

High insulin levels in PCOS are not just because your pancreas is working too hard; your liver is also clearing insulin less efficiently, and your muscles are resisting its effects. This combination leads to high circulating insulin, which can further drive androgen production and weight gain.

GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
Early phase insulin secretion but not the early phase C-peptide secretion was increased in PCOS subjects compared to controls, suggesting that peripheral hyperinsulinaemia in PCOS women was mainly due to the observed lowered hepatic insulin extraction and insulin resistance in skeletal muscle.
Laure Morin‐Papunen et al. · Human Reproduction · 2000

Why this rating

Relies on C-peptide measurements to distinguish secretion from clearance, a robust methodological approach.

Source

Insulin sensitivity, insulin secretion, and metabolic and hormonal parameters in healthy women and women with polycystic ovarian syndrome

Laure Morin‐Papunen et al. · Human Reproduction · 2000

DOI 10.1093/humrep/15.6.1266

cross_sectional · n=77Cited 227×
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DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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