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Fertility Issues in Women With Diabetes: Review
Fertility Issues in Women With Diabetes: Review
10.2217/WHE.09.47 © 2009 Future Medicine Ltd Women's Health (2009) 5(6), 701–707 ISSN 1745-5057 701
Women’s Health – Livshits & Seidman
Obesity is common in both PCOS and Limited conclusions could be made regarding
Type 2 diabetic women. Studies show that the influence of diabetes on fertility, since the
obese women seeking pregnancy experience studies described above are based on a small num-
longer times to conception, unrelated to age ber of patients. They also addressed menstrual
and to cyclic regularity, which is suggestive of problems alone, without long-term follow- up on
alterations in ovarian function during the peri- fertility rates among patients with Type 1 diabetes
conceptual period [19,20] . Metwally et al. found in relationship to their gycemic control.
that oocytes from women with increased BMI The first population-based epidemiological
gave rise to blastocyts of poorer quality [21] . A study on fertility rates over time among women
recent study presented an analysis of the ovarian with Type 1 diabetes was conducted in Sweden
follicular environment of women across a large during 1965 to 2004 [26] . The study followed up
range of BMIs, by measuring follicular fluid on 5978 Type 1 diabetic women diagnosed at
hormones and metabolites, as well as granulosa 16 years of age or younger, who were identified in
and cumulus cell gene expression [22] . The study the Swedish Inpatient Register, until 48 years of
demonstrated elevated intrafollicular insulin age, death or emigration. A standardized fertility
and triglycerides, and increased expression of
lipoprotein receptors in overweight and obese
women. Gene expression alterations were not
Catecholamines
affected by BMI. In addition, there was an
increase in free androgen profile within the Hypothalamus
ovarian follicles of obese women, as well as an Endorphins
increased level of C-reactive protein, which Arcuate nucleus
may be associated with the poorer reproductive
outcomes typically observed in these patients.
Finally, systematic review on pregnancy and GnRH
fertility following bariatric surgery showed
that some normalization of sex hormones and Pituitary gland
menstrual irregularities, as well as improve-
Prolactin
ment in PCOS, has occurred. However, the
influence on fertility still needs to be further
studied [23] . FSH Posterior
LH
Association of modern management of Anterior
diabetes mellitus Type 1 with decrease
in infertility Intermediate
In the past, the relationship between menstrual
dysfunction and diabetic control was considered
controversial. Kajer et al. showed an associa-
tion between low BMI, high concentrations of
HbA1C and the presence of menstrual irregu- Estrogen
larities [7] . Yeshaya et al. found that patients with
diabetic complications had a higher incidence Ovary
of menstrual disorders compared with diabetic
patients without complications [6] . Schroeder
et al. examined the correlation between the
degree of glycemic control in Type 1 diabetic Progesterone
adolescents and menstrual regulation [24] . They
reported that tighter glycemic control, measured
by lower levels of HbA1C, was associated with Inhibin
improved menstrual regulation. Other stud-
ies failed to demonstrate a relationship with
the metabolic state (high BMI, microvascular
and macrovascular complicatrions, or high
HbA1C [8] . There have even been reports sug-
gesting good metabolic control among women
with oligo/amenorrhea [25] . Figure 1. Hypothalamus–pituitary–ovarian axis.
ratio (SFR; the ratio of observed to expected A study conducted by Dorman et al. among
number of live births, with 95% CIs), was used Caucasian women with Type 1 diabetes com-
to express the relative fertility rate. The num- pared the age at menopause of 143 women with
ber of live births was 4013, which was smaller Type 1 diabetes, to their nondiabetic sisters and
than expected (SFR 0.80 [95% CI: 0.77–0.82]). unrelated nondiabetic controls [27] . They found
The lowest SFRs were observed among women that the mean age was significantly younger for
who had their first hospitalization for diabetes Type 1 diabetic women. Women with Type 1 dia-
in the earliest years. SFRs increased monotoni- betes were approximately twice as likely to have
cally with calendar year of first hospitalization to experienced menopause earlier than similar non
become statistically indistinguishable from 1.0 diabetic women. In particular, patients with early
after 1984. The presence of diabetic microvas- menopause were younger at Type 1 diabetic onset
cular or cardiovascular complications was asso- (8.6 vs 12.6 years of age; p = 0.10). Multivariate
ciated with particularly low fertility, essentially analysis confirmed that Type 1 diabetes was an
regardless of year of first hospitalization (Table 1) . independent determinant of early menopause
Overall, fertility among Type 1 diabetic (HR: 1.98; p = 0.056). In the same study, the
women was reduced by 20% in this study, com- age of menarche was found to be significantly
pared to the matched general Swedish female older for Type 1 diabetic women compared with
population, with the lowest SFRs in the earlier nondiabetic women; taken together with pre-
years. This was followed by a significant increase mature menopause, this therefore reduces the
in SFR until normalization among women with reproductive period in Type 1 diabetic women
uncomplicated disease and an onset in the past by 6 years.
20 years. The increase in fertility after 1985 was Strotmeyer et al. found the age of natural
independent of complication status, age at first menopause in Type 1 diabetic women to be
hospitalization or duration of diabetes, and thus almost 10 years earlier compared with nondia-
was probably attributed to better interventions in betic sisters and unrelated nondiabetic controls [5] .
treatment. Although improvement was evident The mean age of self-reported natural menopause
regardless of status of diabetes complications, in Type 1 diabetic women was 42 years, however
women with complications always had lower perimenopausal symptoms were already observed
fertility than those without these complications. in women in their thirties and forties.
The results of this study suggest that the Regarding women with Type 2 diabetes, few
stricter metabolic control exercised in the past studies have so far been conducted. The only
20 years, together with better control of blood study that we found did not show increased risk
pressure and more frequent use of drugs active in for premature menopause. López-López R et al.
blocking the renin–angiotensin system, has also compared 409 women without diabetes and 404
been successful with regard to preserving fertility. women with Type 2 diabetes and found no dif-
ference for age at menopause between these two
Menopause groups [28] .
It has been known that patients with diabetes Premature menopause in Type 1 diabetic
mellitus experience changes of cell senescence women may also be related to the autoimmu-
earlier than the general population. This could nity aspects of Type 1 diabetes. Goswami et al.
indicate that one such sign of aging in women, found higher prevalence of thyroid peroxidase
menopause, may occur earlier compared with autoantibodies in patients with premature ovar-
nondiabetic women. ian failure compared with healthy controls [29] .
Table 1. Standardized fertility ratios among women hospitalized for Type 1 diabetes
at ≤16 years of age, stratified by type of complications (1965–2004, Sweden).
SFR for Type 1 diabetic SFR for Type 1 diabetic women
Diabetic complications women without complication with complication
Retinopathy 0.84 0.63
Nephropathy 0.82 0.54
Neuropathy 0.81 0.50
Cardiovascular 0.80 0.34
SFR: Standradized fertility ratio.
Modified from [26].
The possible autoimmune etiology of infertility frequent in diabetic girls with both irregular and
related to Type 1 diabetes will be discussed in normal menstrual cycles.
the next section. The role of thyroid involvement in diabetes
Type 1 patients and its effect on menstruation
Autoimmunity cycle and fertility has been well observed. More
Autoimmune diseases, including oophoritis, studies, however, are needed to explore the cor-
orchitis and hypothyroidism, are well-known relation between Type 1 diabetic women and the
causes of infertility. Autoimmune oophoritis presence of antiovarian autoantibodies among
may occur as part of type I and type II syn- these women, with relationship to infertility.
dromes of polyglandular autoimmune failure,
which are associated with autoantibodies to Sexual dysfunction & diabetes
multiple endocrine and other organs. Young It is been estimated that approximately 35–75%
women with spontaneous premature ovarian of men with diabetes will experience at least
failure are at increased risk of autoimmune some degree of erectile dysfunction during their
hypothyroidism and should be screened for lifetime [103] . They tend to develop erectile dys-
this condition. function 10–15 years earlier than men without
Type 1 diabetes and autoimmune thyroid diabetes. The effect of diabetes on female sexual
diseases frequently occur together within fami- function was not fully recognized and addressed
lies and in the same individual. Therefore, we in the past. Enzlin et al. reviewed 15 studies con-
can assume that patients with Type 1 diabetes ducted between 1971 and 1996 [31] , and docu-
that have overt or concealed hypothyroidism mented that the prevalence of impaired sexual
may also be at risk for premature ovarian fail- arousal and inadequate lubrication was between
ure. In general, evaluation of premature ovar- 14–45% among diabetic women, significantly
ian failure should include serum concentration higher than in healthy controls [31] . In a subse-
of follicle-stimulating hormone and estradiol quent controlled study that they conducted in
and screening for asymptomatic autoimmune 2002, Enzlin et al. found that more women with
adrenal insufficiency, since it is more common diabetes than control subjects reported sexual dys-
in women with autoimmune ovarian failure. In function (27 vs 15%; p = 0.04) [32] . Female sexual
addition, testing should include thyroid-stimu- dysfunction may have a secondary effect on fertil-
lating hormone, free T4, antithyroid-peroxidase, ity by decreasing sexual desire and limiting sexual
antithyroglobulin antibodies and karyotype. activity, especially around the time of ovulation.
Menstrual cycle changes observed in patients
with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis include menor- Future perspective
rhagia, more frequent and longer periods, and Improved glycemic control was found to be asso-
dysmenorrhea. Prevalence of thyroid autoim- ciated with improvement in menstrual abnormali-
munity is significantly higher among infertile ties and in fertility rates [6,7,24,26] . Nevertheless,
women than among fertile women, especially some diabetic patients experience persistent men-
among those whose infertility is caused by strual irregularities even though good metabolic
endometriosis or ovarian dysfunction [28] . control has been achieved. In those patients, it
In a study conducted by Strotmeyer et al. more is worthwhile to address the possible abnormali-
than 40% of women with Type 1 diabetes had ties in the HPO axis and to evaluate their hor-
Hashimoto’s thyroiditis [8] . Nevertheless, he did monal status (GnRH, LH, follicle-stimulating
not find menstrual disorders to be significantly hormone and GnRH stimulation test), as well
affected by Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. It could be as the autoimmune etiology related to diabetes.
reasoned that in some of the women, Hashimoto’s At present, most of our knowledge on auto
thyroiditis was diagnosed much later after men- immunity aspects of Type 1 diabetes and its effect
strual disorders occurred. Others had their thy- on fertility in diabetic women is mainly related
roid disease under adequate control, and were less to the presence of Hashimoto’s thyroiditis or thy-
likely to exhibit menstrual irregularities. roid peroxidase autoantibodies. Few studies have
Snajderova et al. studied the presence of organ- explored the presence of antiovarian autoantibod-
specific autoantibodies and other endocrine ies and its clinical significance in Type 1 diabetes
autoimmune disorders in girls with Type 1 dia- patients. Snajderova showed a higher prevalence
betes [30] . They found ovarian autoantibodies in of these antibodies in Type 1 diabetic girls [30] ,
67.9% of Type 1 diabetic girls compared to 4.8% but there has not been further follow-up. More
of healthy controls (p < 0.01). Autoantibodies studies need to be conducted in order to examine
directed to ovarian steroid-producing cells were the correlation between Type 1 diabetic patients
and the presence of antiovarian autoantibodies. Finally, we mentioned the possible effect that
Additional questions remain whether antiovarian diabetes may have on the incidence and the sever-
autoantibodies are associated with infertility, and ity of upper genital tract infections. Few stud-
whether tight glycemic control may decrease or ies have been reported until now exploring this
eliminate their prevalence. field, and this possible association and its effect on
Premature menopause observed more com- fertility definitely deserve further research.
monly among diabetic women is also a mystery
that remains to be solved. Several explanations Financial & competing interests disclosure
have been proposed, among them the antiovar- The authors have no relevant affiliations or financial involve-
ian autoantibodies, prolonged hyperglycemia ment with any organization or entity with a financial interest
and hyperandrogenism induced by insulin in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials dis-
treatment. Future studies should be conducted cussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultan-
to evaluate the relationship between better cies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony,
metabolic control and the age of menopause in grants or patents received or pending, or royalties. No writing
diabetic patients. assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.
Executive summary
Delayed menarche & menstrual irregularities in Type 1 diabetes
• Diagnosis of Type 1 diabetes mellitus (DM) prior to menarche, particularly before 10 years of age, caused a delay in menarchial age.
• If the onset of Type I DM precedes menarche, it is often delayed and patients are more likely to develop menstrual disturbances.
• This may reflect a general dysfunction of the hypothalamic–pituitary–ovarian (HPO) axis: disruption in hypothalamic pulsetile secretion
of gonadotropic releasing hormone (GnRH), lower basal level of luteinizing hormone (LH) and different reactions of LH to exogenous
GnRH in women with Type 1 diabetes with menstrual disorders.
• Too vigorous treatment with supraphysiological doses of insulin may contribute to the etiology of menstrual disorders in women with
Type 1 diabetes by causing hypedandrogenism and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).
Type 2 diabetes & infertility
• Type 2 diabetes is associated with infertility, alterations in the length of menstrual cycle, and the age of onset of menopause.
• This may be explained by the correlation of Type 2 diabetes to PCOS, which is highly prevalent in women with Type 2 diabetes.
• Obese women experience longer times to conception, even if they are young and cycling regularly, which is suggestive of alterations in
ovarian function during the periconceptual period.
Association of modern management of diabetes mellitus with a decrease in infertility
• Poor glycemic control and the presence of diabetic complications are associated with menstrual irregularities and lower fertility.
• A population-based epidemiological study on fertility rates over time among Swedish women with Type 1 diabetes during 1965 to
2004 showed a reduction in fertility by 20%. The presence of diabetic microvascular or cardiovascular complications was associated
with particularly low fertility.
• Increase in fertility was evident in the past 20 years and could be attributed to stricter metabolic control.
Menopause
• Type I diabetes may be associated with a higher incidence of premature menopause.
• Patients with early menopause were younger at the onset of Type 1 diabetes.
• Premature menopause in women with Type 1 diabetes may be related to autoimmunity aspects of Type 1 diabetes.
Autoimmunity
• Hashimoto’s thyroiditis is highly prevalent among patients with Type 1 diabetes (some studies reported >40% prevalence).
• Menstrual cycle changes observed in patients with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis include menorrhagia, more frequent and longer periods,
and dysmenorrhea.
• Antiovarian autoantibodies were found in girls with Type 1 diabetes in higher frequency compared with healthy controls.
Sexual dysfunction & diabetes
• Higher prevalence of impaired sexual arousal and inadequate lubrication was found to be significantly higher in women with Type 1
diabetes compared with healthy controls.
Future perspective
• We must improve our understanding of the HPO axis and the hormonal balance in women with diabetes with persistent menstrual
abnormalities despite good glycemic control.
• Establish the prevalence of antiovarian autoantibodies in Type 1 diabetes, their association to infertility, and the effect of good glycemic
control on their presence.
• Find out the incidence and severity of upper genital tract infections in women with Type 1 and 2 diabetes compared with nondiabetic controls.
• Evaluate whether better treatment of diabetes may reduce the incidence of premature menopause in diabetic women.
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