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Polycystic Ovary Syndrome as a Paradigm for Prehypertension, Prediabetes, and Preobesity

  • Pathogenesis of Hypertension (W Elliott, Section Editor)
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Abstract

The polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a hyperandrogenic disorder affecting 5–10 % of premenopausal women. These patients gather multiple cardiovascular risk factors from early ages. Hence, PCOS is currently considered a paradigm of cardiometabolic disease. Research about its pathogenesis has grown over the last years, covering from the potential fetal developmental programming to the molecular basis of adipose tissue dysfunction, insulin resistance, inflammation, oxidative stress, sympathetic hyperactivity, and endothelial dysfunction. All these abnormalities put these patients at an increased risk of vascular events. Thus, practitioners attending these women must have a broad pathophysiological knowledge of PCOS. We here review recent scientific insights about its cardiometabolic phenotype focusing on the pathogenesis of obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and hypertension. We emphasize that a diagnosis of PCOS, especially if accompanied by excess weight, must be followed by a complete and periodical cardiometabolic evaluation and by the aggressive management of the abnormalities identified, with the aim of preventing future cardiovascular morbidity.

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Conflict of Interest

Manuel Luque-Ramirez and Héctor F. Escobar-Morreale report Grant PI1100357 from Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, Madrid, Spain, Plan Nacional de I+D+I 2008–2011, Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER). CIBERDEM is also an initiative of Instituto de Salud Carlos III.

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This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

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  1. Diabetes, Obesity and Human Reproduction Research Group. Department of Endocrinology and Nutrition, Hospital Universitario Ramón y Cajal & Universidad de Alcalá. Instituto Ramón y Cajal de Investigación Sanitaria (IRYCIS). Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red en Diabetes y Enfermedades Metabólicas Asociadas (CIBERDEM), Carretera de Colmenar Viejo, Km. 9,1, 28034, Madrid, Spain

    Manuel Luque-Ramírez & Héctor F. Escobar-Morreale

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  1. Manuel Luque-Ramírez
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  2. Héctor F. Escobar-Morreale
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Correspondence to Manuel Luque-Ramírez.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Pathogenesis of Hypertension

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Luque-Ramírez, M., Escobar-Morreale, H.F. Polycystic Ovary Syndrome as a Paradigm for Prehypertension, Prediabetes, and Preobesity. Curr Hypertens Rep 16, 500 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11906-014-0500-6

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