Knowledge Through Support (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome)

Knowledge Through Support
Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome

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What is PCOS?
Polycystic ovary syndrome, or PCOS, is complex hormone disorder which causes such symptoms as irregular menstrual cycles, infertility, excessive body hair, acne, and obesity. The syndrome is named for the cysts that sometimes form in the ovaries when the hormone imbalance interrupts the ovulation process. The term polycystic means “composed of many cysts.” If the hormonal imbalance is left untreated, the syndrome can lead to life-threatening illnesses such as diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and uterine and endometrial cancers.

Symptoms of PCOS
Because it is a syndrome, PCOS includes a set of symptoms. Women with PCOS can suffer from any combinations of the symptoms listed here. Some women experience only one of these symptoms, while other women experience all of them. The severity of PCOS symptoms can vary widely from woman to woman. Talk to your physician if you suffer from one or more of these symptoms:

• Chronically irregular menstrual cycles or absent periods
• Infertility or difficulty conceiving (due to not ovulating)
• Obesity (greater than 30 pounds over “ideal” weight)
• Sudden unexplained weight gain (even if you are still of “normal” weight)
• Adult acne
• Excessive hair growth (dark hair on the face, chest, or abdomen)
• Male pattern hair loss or thinning hair
• Type 2 diabetes or insulin-resistance

It is possible to have the above symptoms and not have PCOS; however, most women with these symptoms, especially irregular menstrual cycles, do have PCOS. In fact, 80 percent of women with six or fewer periods per year have PCOS.

Researchers have found that there are some variations in the symptoms among different races. For example, while excessive body hair is found among 70 percent of American women with PCOS, it only occurs in about 10-20 percent of Asian women. Unfortunately, there is not enough evidence to support why these variations in symptoms occur.

Because the symptoms for POCS can vary widely, it can be difficult to exclude or include symptoms as a part of the diagnosis. In fact, the World Health Organization tried to determine a comprehensive list of symptoms and couldn't agree on more than four of them. Research is being done at a dozen facilities in the United States alone. There may be more common symptoms discovered as new studies are completed and women continue reporting their experiences.

Who is Affected?
The most common endocrine disorder, PCOS is estimated to affect anywhere from 5 to 10 percent of all women. That means at least five million and as many as 10 million women in the United States suffer from PCOS. The syndrome does not discriminate and can be found in women of all races and ethnic groups throughout the world, although it tends to be more common in women of Mediterranean descent. PCOS affects women of all ages, from adolescence to menopause. Once a woman is diagnosed, she will need to manage the symptoms for the rest of her life.

Adolescent Females
Although the age of onset for PCOS symptoms varies, most women with PCOS can think back to their teenage years and remember a point in time when they started feeling “different” and wondering if something was wrong with them. Adolescent girls experience many of the same symptoms as adults especially irregular or absent periods, unwanted hair, weight gain, and acne. For many adolescents, these physical changes seem to occur almost overnight. A young girl with PCOS can gain 30 or 40 pounds in just a few months even though she is exercising regularly and eating well. She also might start to suddenly notice more and more dark hair on her chin and upper lip or maybe her face is beginning to break out despite her efforts to control it.

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