Cardiometabolic risk factors in polycystic ovary syndrome

Abstract

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is the most common endocrine disorder in women during their reproductive age. The prevalence of the metabolic syndrome has been documented as approximately 2-4.4 times higher in PCOS women than in their age-matched counterparts. Likewise, insulin resistance is quite common in PCOS individuals. Hyperandrogenism of PCOS patients may be the cause of their insulin resistance and hyperinsulinism. The cardiometabolic features such as hypertension, dyslipidemia, generalized and abdominal obesity could in turn be justified by hyperinsulinemia. However, metabolic dysfunction of PCOS women is independent of their weight status. Some controversies exist over the impact of PCOS on CVD events. Nonetheless, studies have highly recommended to control cardiometabolicrisk factors among the PCOS patients and to treat them by lifestyle modification, insulin-sensitizing medications, and lipid lowering drugs when necessary. We used electronic databases PubMed, MEDLINE for literature search to find relevant studies besides other non-indexed citations, Allied and Complementary Medicine (AMED), Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), Scopus and EMBASE, CAB Abstracts, and Global Health. The literature search was restricted to documents published in the English language from 1990 to 2012.