Background and objective: Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) is the most common endocrine disorder among reproductive-age women. There is very little information about the prevalence of PCOS in Iran. With regard to the symptoms of PCOS which begin after menarche and regarding to its side effects on women's health, we aimed to determine the prevalence of PCOS in adolescents in Zanjan, Iran. Materials and Methods: In this descriptive community based study, 1882, 14-18 year old adolescents were randomly selected from Zanjan schools. The presence of PCOS was determined by the presence of olygomenorea, hirsutism, acne and androgenic alopecia. For correlation between PCOS and obesity, BMI and central obesity was evaluated. Statistical analysis was performed using K2 test. Results: PCOS was present in 54(2.9%), hirsutism was present in 161 (8.6%), acne was present in 220 (11.7%), androgenic alopsia was present in 130(6.9%) and menstrual irregularity was present in 281 (16.9%) of the cases. The prevalence of central obesity and over weight did not differ among the studied groups. Conclusion: The prevalence of PCOS in our study was similar to the results reported from other societies. With regard to PCOS side effects, we suggest that the diagnosis and treatment of PCOS is better to be started from adolescence.

Background and Objective: It has been reported that low concentration of zinc in serum is associated with insulin resistance (IR), also appears to be a relationship between insulin and leptin. In this study the possibility of increased leptin concentration and zinc deficiency was evaluated; in the following, their relationship with overweight and IR was investigated in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).
Materials and Methods: In this case-control study, 104 PCOS involved cases and 99 healthy individuals as control were included. Blood specimens were collected from participants post overnight fasting period; zinc concentrations (spectrophotometry method), leptin (ELISA method), insulin (ECLIA method), lipid profiles and glucose were measured with enzymatic method. The homeostasis model assessment (HOMA) index determined the IR level.
Results: Zinc level was 87.20 ± 11.32 μg/dl in PCOS group, and 113.68 ± 8.31μg/dl in control group. Leptin  concentration was 23.06 ± 3.33 ng/mL and 19.37 ± 3.34 ng/mL, and IR was 2.37 ± 0.83 and 1.45 ± 0.74 in case and control groups, respectively (all p<0.001). Zinc had marked negative correlation with leptin, insulin, and IR (p<0.001). According to the subject, which waist circumference and body mass index (BMI) parameters were confounding factors, hyperleptinemia and zinc decrement significantly affected PCOS subjects. In contrast, only zinc decrement had an association with PCOS, after eliminating the confounding factors (OR: 0.782, p<0.001).
Conclusion: Zinc reduction is more effective on PCOS than hyperleptinemia. Hyperleptinemia has association with waist circumference and BMI; it can also affect PCOS.