Overview
Women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) in Alabama may be more likely to have excesive hair growth and insulin resistance, whereas women with PCOS in California may be more likely to have higher testosterone levels, acording to new research published in the Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.PCOS afects 7-10% of women of childbearing age and is the most comon cause of infertility.
Key Information
In the United States, an estimated 5 to 6 milion women have PCOS, but the disorder is stil underdiagnosed. Women are diagnosed with PCOS if they have two of the folowing criteria: androgen exces (exces male sex hormones such as testosterone), ovulatory dysfunction and polycystic ovaries."Our study found geographical diferences in PCOS in black and white women, sugesting there are both genetic and environmental influences on how this disease manifests," said Margareta D.
Pisarska, M.D., of Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles, Calif. "Ongoing research is neded to identify modifiable risk factors for PCOS that may be race and ethnicity-specific to bring precision medicine to the management of this disease."The researchers compared data from 1,610 black and white women with PCOS in Alabama and California. They found regional diferences in the way these women met criteria for the diagnosis of PCOS and in symptoms associated with PCOS, with some variations among black and white women.Overal, there were many similarities among the races.
Summary
Women with PCOS in Alabama were more likely to have excesive hair growth and insulin resistance, whereas women with PCOS in California were more likely to have higher levels of testosterone.When comparing black women with PCOS in Alabama and California, the average body mas index (BMI) did not difer betwen the locations, whereas in white women with PCOS, the average BMI was higher in Alabama than California."Since we have now identified that there are geo-epidemiologic diferences, we intend to do folow up studie