Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34081616›Full record

ArticleEuropean journal of endocrinology2021

Clinical and biochemical signs of polycystic ovary syndrome in young women born preterm.

Marika Paalanne, Marja Vääräsmäki, Sanna Mustaniemi, Marjaana Tikanmäki, Karoliina Wehkalampi, Hanna-Maria Matinolli, Johan Eriksson, Marjo-Riitta Järvelin, Laure Morin-Papunen, Eero Kajantie

Open access · hybridAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in European journal of endocrinology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
0.4field-weighted citation impact, top 35% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed, 3 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Bronchopulmonary dysplasia and extremely preterm birth: time for a broader perspective on long-term outcomes.European respiratory review : an official journal of the European Respiratory Society · 2026
    Review
  2. Whole-bodyEuropean journal of nuclear medicine and molecular imaging · 2026
    Article
  3. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors at 5 institutions in 4 countries.

Marika PaalanneFinnish Institute for Health and Welfare, Population Health Unit, Oulu and Helsinki, Finland.ORCID 0000-0003-1626-9410
Marja VääräsmäkiFinnish Institute for Health and Welfare, Population Health Unit, Oulu and Helsinki, Finland.
Sanna MustaniemiFinnish Institute for Health and Welfare, Population Health Unit, Oulu and Helsinki, Finland.
Marjaana TikanmäkiFinnish Institute for Health and Welfare, Population Health Unit, Oulu and Helsinki, Finland.
Karoliina WehkalampiFinnish Institute for Health and Welfare, Population Health Unit, Oulu and Helsinki, Finland.
Hanna-Maria MatinolliFinnish Institute for Health and Welfare, Population Health Unit, Oulu and Helsinki, Finland.
Johan ErikssonFinnish Institute for Health and Welfare, Population Health Unit, Oulu and Helsinki, Finland.
Marjo-Riitta JärvelinImperial College, London, UK.
Laure Morin-PapunenPEDEGO Research Unit (Research Unit for Pediatrics, Dermatology, Clinical Genetics, Obstetrics, and Gynecology), Medical Research Center Oulu (MRC Oulu), Oulu University Hospital and University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland.
Eero KajantieFinnish Institute for Health and Welfare, Population Health Unit, Oulu and Helsinki, Finland.
Oulu University Hospital · FIUniversity of Helsinki · FIAgency for Science, Technology and Research · SGThe London College · GBUniversity of Turku · FI

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveIt has been suggested that adverse early life exposures increase the risk of developing polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) in later life. We hypothesized that women born preterm would have more biochemical and clinical signs of PCOS than women born at term.

designThe ESTER Preterm Birth Study participants were born in Northern Finland and identified from the Northern Finland Birth Cohort and the Finnish Medical Birth Register. Altogether, 74 women born very or moderately preterm (<34 gestational weeks, VMPT), 127 born late preterm (at 34-36 weeks, LPT), and 184 born full term (≥37 weeks, controls) were included in the analysis (mean age: 23.2 years).

methodsWe measured serum total testosterone and sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) and calculated the free androgen index (FAI). PCOS according to the clinical and biochemical signs was defined either as hirsutism and oligoamenorrhea (via questionnaire) or as oligoamenorrhea and elevated testosterone levels (>2.4 nmol/L).

resultsWomen born VMPT/LPT exhibited 33.0% (8.7, 62.8)/16.4% (-2.0, 38.1) higher testosterone, 28.5% (5.3, 45.9)/24.1% (5.6, 38.9) lower SHBG levels, and 64.6% (19.4, 127.1)/42.5% (11.1, 82.9) higher FAI than controls after adjusting for age and recruitment cohort, maternal BMI, smoking, and pregnancy disorders, parental education, history of hypertension, diabetes, myocardial infarction or stroke, and subject's birth weight s.d. Odds ratios for having PCOS were 1.67 (0.44, 6.23)/3.11 (1.26, 7.70).

conclusionsWomen born preterm have a more hyperandrogenic hormonal profile, and those born LPT are approximately three times more likely at risk to have PCOS compared to women born at term.

Indexed as

BiomarkersAdultAdult ChildrenAndrogensBody Mass IndexCase-Control StudiesFemaleFinlandGestational AgeHirsutismHumansInfant, NewbornPolycystic Ovary SyndromePregnancyPregnancy ComplicationsPremature BirthAndrogensBiomarkersTestosterone

Identifiers

PMID34081616
PMCPMC8284903
OpenAlexW3165094659

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.