Obesity Increases Odds of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome

(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Overweight women are five-times as likely as lean women to have polycystic ovary syndrome.

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) occurs when the ovaries malfunction and levels of androgen -- a sex hormone -- are unusually high. This condition decreases fertility and is often associated with sleep apnea, as well as a risk for diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Researchers at the Universitario Ramon y Cajal in Madrid, Spain, evaluated 113 premenopausal women who visited a weight loss treatment center over the course of three consecutive years. Of the 113 women, 32 -- 28.3 percent -- were diagnosed with polycystic syndrome, compared to 5.5 percent among lean women.

Women were diagnosed with PCOS based on whether their ovaries were releasing eggs regularly, levels of androgen in their blood, and whether or not other diagnoses could be ruled out. Women in the study with the syndrome tended to be younger and were more likely to have insulin resistance.

The researchers say that although more than half of patients with POS are obese, the prevalence of the condition in overweight and obese women in unknown. They conclude by saying that PCOS must be routinely ruled out in overweight and obese premenopausal women seeking advice for weight loss.

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SOURCE: The Archives of Internal Medicine, 2006; 166:2081-2086