Overweight and obese Spanish women appear five times as likely as lean women to have polycystic ovary syndrome, a condition that decreases fertility and contributes to other illnesses, according to an article in the October 23 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.
Polycystic ovary syndrome occurs when the ovaries malfunction and levels of the sex hormone androgen are unusually high. Symptoms may include irregular or no menstrual periods, acne and excess hair growth. In addition to its implications for reproductive health, polycystic ovary syndrome is also associated with sleep apnea, poor quality of life and an increased risk for diabetes and cardiovascular disease, according to background information in the article.
Although more than half of patients with polycystic ovary syndrome are obese, the prevalence of the condition in overweight or obese women is unknown.
Francisco ?lvarez-Blasco, M.D., and colleagues at Hospital Universitario Ram?n y Cajal, Madrid, Spain, evaluated 113 consecutive women who visited one hospital for weight loss treatment between May 2002 and December 2005. The women were diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome based on whether their ovaries were releasing eggs regularly, tests to assess the level of androgen in their blood and whether other diagnoses could be ruled out.