Abstract

ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND:
A woman's menstrual cycle (and accompanying hormonal changes) can cause variations in blood glucose levels. Many women may note an increase in their blood glucose after ovulation, which then decreases once menstruation starts. These changes are caused by the hormones estrogen and progesterone, which occur at higher levels before period. They influence insulin in causing blood glucose to rise. It is important to test blood glucose levels during this cycle to be certain that blood sugar variations are attributed to menstruation.
OBJECTIVE:
To study the effect of sex hormones (testosterone, estradiol and progesterone) on the level of glucose; as well as it may shed light on suitable dose of diabetic treatment during different phases of menstrual cycle.
SUBJECTS & METHODS:
This study included 50 healthy female with regular menstrual cycle aged 25-40 years (control group) and 25 diabetic type2 (well controlled) female with regular menstrual cycle aged 30-40 years. Serum fasting glucose and sex hormones (testosterone, progesterone and estradiol ) were evaluated in these two groups of patients and controls during follicular and luteal phases of sexual cycle. Colorimetric method was used in the serum glucose concentration determination, Enzyme Linked Immune Sorbent assay (ELISA) was used in the determining sex hormones level.
RESULTS:
The results of the present revealed significant increase in mean (+SD) values of serum glucose (p<0.05) and serum progesterone levels (p<0.05) with significant decrease of serum estradiol mean (+SD) values (p<0.01) in lateual phase than follicular phase of menstrual cycle of healthy women.
Similar findings were found in diabetic women who have regular menstrual cycle .Serum glucose and serum progesterone showed significant increase ,while serum estradiol showed significant decrease in the luteal phase compared with follicular phase .
No significant difference was found serum testosterone level in the above studied groups between the phases.
It was found that 22% of healthy women with regular menstrual cycle showed elevation in their serum glucose concentration during the luteal phase of their sexual cycle.
CONCLUSION:
The study revealed that blood glucose level changes along the period of menstrual cycle , due to the interaction between the hormones that control menstruation (estrogen and progesterone ) and the insulin hormone