Polycystic ovary syndrome
Last updated 19 Sept 2024
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Polycystic ovary syndrome is a condition that affects women in their child-bearing years and alters the levels of multiple hormones, resulting in problems affecting many body systems.
Description
Polycystic ovary syndrome is a condition that affects women in their child-bearing years and alters the levels of multiple hormones, resulting in problems affecting many body systems.
Most women with polycystic ovary syndrome produce excess male sex hormones (androgens), a condition called hyperandrogenism. Having too much of these hormones typically leads to excessive body hair growth (hirsutism), acne, and male pattern baldness.
Hyperandrogenism and abnormal levels of other sex hormones prevent normal release of egg cells from the ovaries (ovulation) and regular menstrual periods, leading to difficulty conceiving a child (subfertility) or a complete inability to conceive (infertility). For those who achieve pregnancy, there is an increased risk of complications and pregnancy loss. Due to irregular and infrequent menstruation and hormone abnormalities, affected women have an increased risk of cancer of the uterine lining (endometrial cancer).
In polycystic ovary syndrome, one or both ovaries can contain multiple small, immature ovarian follicles that can appear as cysts on medical imaging. Normally, ovarian follicles contain egg cells, which are released during ovulation. In polycystic ovary syndrome, abnormal hormone levels prevent follicles from growing and maturing to release egg cells. Instead, these immature follicles accumulate in the ovaries. Affected women can have 12 or more of these follicles. The number of these follicles usually decreases with age.
About half of all women with polycystic ovary syndrome are overweight or have obesity and are at increased risk of a fatty liver. Additionally, many women with polycystic ovary syndrome have elevated levels of insulin, which is a hormone that helps control levels of blood glucose, also called blood sugar. By age 40, about 10 percent of overweight women with polycystic ovary syndrome develop abnormally high blood glucose levels (type 2 diabetes), and up to 35 percent develop prediabetes (higher-than-normal blood glucose levels that do not reach the cutoff for diabetes). Obesity and increased insulin levels (hyperinsulinemia) further increase the production of androgens in polycystic ovary syndrome.
Women with polycystic ovary syndrome are also at increased risk for developing metabolic syndrome, which is a group of conditions that include high blood pressure (hypertension), increased belly fat, high levels of unhealthy fats and low levels of healthy fats in the blood, and high blood glucose levels. About 20 percent of affected adults experience pauses in breathing during sleep (sleep apnea). Women with polycystic ovary syndrome are more likely than women in the general popluation to have mood disorders such as depression.
Inheritance patterns
The source lists the following possible inheritance patterns: Pattern unknown. More than one pattern can apply in different cases.
Related genes
Other names
Cystic disease of ovaries
Cystic disease of ovary
Multicystic ovaries
PCO
PCOD
PCOS
Polycystic ovarian disease
Polycystic ovarian syndrome
Sclerocystic ovarian degeneration
Sclerocystic ovaries
Sclerocystic ovary syndrome
Stein-Leventhal syndrome
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Further reading and references
- Polycystic ovary syndrome; MedlinePlus, National Library of Medicine.
- Goodman NF, Cobin RH, Futterweit W, Glueck JS, Legro RS, Carmina E; American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE); American College of Endocrinology (ACE); Androgen Excess and PCOS Society (AES). AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF CLINICAL ENDOCRINOLOGISTS, AMERICAN COLLEGE OF ENDOCRINOLOGY, AND ANDROGEN EXCESS AND PCOS SOCIETY DISEASE STATE CLINICAL REVIEW: GUIDE TO THE BEST PRACTICES IN THE EVALUATION AND TREATMENT OF POLYCYSTIC OVARY SYNDROME--PART 1. Endocr Pract. 2015 Nov;21(11):1291-300. doi: 10.4158/EP15748.DSC.
- Goodman NF, Cobin RH, Futterweit W, Glueck JS, Legro RS, Carmina E; American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE); American College of Endocrinology (ACE); Androgen Excess and PCOS Society. AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF CLINICAL ENDOCRINOLOGISTS, AMERICAN COLLEGE OF ENDOCRINOLOGY, AND ANDROGEN EXCESS AND PCOS SOCIETY DISEASE STATE CLINICAL REVIEW: GUIDE TO THE BEST PRACTICES IN THE EVALUATION AND TREATMENT OF POLYCYSTIC OVARY SYNDROME - PART 2. Endocr Pract. 2015 Dec;21(12):1415-26. doi: 10.4158/EP15748.DSCPT2.
- Helvaci N, Karabulut E, Demir AU, Yildiz BO. Polycystic ovary syndrome and the risk of obstructive sleep apnea: a meta-analysis and review of the literature. Endocr Connect. 2017 Oct;6(7):437-445. doi: 10.1530/EC-17-0129. Epub 2017 Jul 24.
- Jones MR, Goodarzi MO. Genetic determinants of polycystic ovary syndrome: progress and future directions. Fertil Steril. 2016 Jul;106(1):25-32. doi: 10.1016/j.fertnstert.2016.04.040. Epub 2016 May 11.
- Lizneva D, Suturina L, Walker W, Brakta S, Gavrilova-Jordan L, Azziz R. Criteria, prevalence, and phenotypes of polycystic ovary syndrome. Fertil Steril. 2016 Jul;106(1):6-15. doi: 10.1016/j.fertnstert.2016.05.003. Epub 2016 May 24.
- Rotterdam ESHRE/ASRM-Sponsored PCOS Consensus Workshop Group. Revised 2003 consensus on diagnostic criteria and long-term health risks related to polycystic ovary syndrome. Fertil Steril. 2004 Jan;81(1):19-25. doi: 10.1016/j.fertnstert.2003.10.004.
- Unluturk U, Sezgin E, Yildiz BO. Evolutionary determinants of polycystic ovary syndrome: part 1. Fertil Steril. 2016 Jul;106(1):33-41. doi: 10.1016/j.fertnstert.2016.05.010. Epub 2016 May 26.
- Zhao H, Lv Y, Li L, Chen ZJ. Genetic Studies on Polycystic Ovary Syndrome. Best Pract Res Clin Obstet Gynaecol. 2016 Nov;37:56-65. doi: 10.1016/j.bpobgyn.2016.04.002. Epub 2016 May 19.
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