PCOS, Fatty Liver and Insulin Resistance
Reviewed by CDE Mehandi Sharma · Updated
Insulin resistance does not only affect blood sugar. It shows up in several conditions that travel together, and finding one is a reason to look for the rest.
PCOS is closely linked. Insulin resistance is central to polycystic ovary syndrome, and PCOS is itself a recognised risk factor for prediabetes and Type 2 diabetes. If you have PCOS, you should be having your glucose checked; if you have prediabetes and irregular cycles, PCOS is worth raising.
Fatty liver — fat accumulating in the liver — is common alongside insulin resistance, and particularly common in Indians, who tend to store fat in the liver and abdomen at lower body weights than Europeans.
High blood pressure and abnormal cholesterol frequently accompany the same picture. Together with raised glucose and abdominal fat, this cluster is often called metabolic syndrome.
Sleep apnoea is also on the list, and is frequently undiagnosed. Loud snoring with daytime sleepiness is worth mentioning.
The practical point is that a prediabetes result is a reason to ask for a fuller check rather than a glucose test alone: blood pressure, a lipid panel, and liver tests if indicated.
The encouraging side is that the same changes improve all of them at once. Activity and abdominal fat reduction act on the shared underlying cause.