SHBG and cyclic hematopoiesis: Since, in our study group, body mass index remained stable over the follow-up and all of the obese patients (9/46 in PH group and 8/30 in CH group) were treated with the same dose of metformin during the observation period and the previous six months, we ascertained that the observed increase in SHBG concentration was not affected by changes in insulinemia, but instead caused by thyroid hormones.