Tamara Thomas

Urban Health Today

Women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) are at increased risk for several diseases and symptoms, many of which are independent of body mass index (BMI), according to a study published in Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica.&nbsp;PCOS is the most common endocrine disorder found in women of reproductive age, with a 5% to 18% prevalence. Women with PCOS are at increased risk for metabolic disorders such as obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus, psychological morbidity, asthma, and migraine.&nbsp;For this study, researchers at a university in Finland led by Dr. Linda Kujanp&auml;&auml; sought to evaluate the overall comorbidity in women with PCOS at age 46 years using questionnaires.The longitudinal Northern Finland Birth Cohort obtained the study population. It included 280 women who reported hirsutism and oligo/amenorrhea at age 31 and/or PCOS at age 46. Of these women, 246 replied to the questionnaire. These women were compared with a group of 1573 women without PCOS, which served as the control group.&nbsp;The researchers observed that overall, women with PCOS had a 35% higher morbidity risk than women without PCOS, and surprisingly, this risk remained after adjusting for BMI.&ldquo;BMI seems not to be solely responsible for the increased morbidity,&rdquo; the researchers wrote. The average morbidity score of women with PCOS with a BMI of 25 kg/m2 or higher was similar to that of women with PCOS and a lower BMI.This finding is significant as much emphasis is placed on counseling women with PCOS to lose weight. Dr. Mindy Christianson, a medical director at Johns Hopkins Fertility Center, emphasizes that while the message to lose weight is still important, realizing that related diseases and conditions, such as autoimmune diseases and migraine, are not driven by BMI.Furthermore, after adjusting for factors such as BMI, physical activity, alcohol intake, smoking, marital status, and education, diagnoses with increased prevalence among women with PCOS were migraine, hypertension, tendinitis, osteoarthritis, fractures, and endometriosis.Dr. Christianson further states that PCOS is not solely a fertility or obesity issue but an overall health issue that comes at a significant cost to the healthcare system.&nbsp;Source: <a href="https://www.medscape.org/viewarticle/976910">Medscape</a>Journal Source: <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9564432/">&nbsp;Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica </a>

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Overweight May Not Correlate to PCOS Burden, Study Finds

Researchers observed that women with PCOS had a 35% higher morbidity risk; this risk remained after adjusting for BMI.

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