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The Risk of Diabetes and Metabolic Syndrome in PCOS

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Book cover Diagnosis and Management of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome

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Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is the commonest female endocrinopathy and affects between 6 and 10% of pre-menopausal women [1]. PCOS is a highly heritable condition (heritability 0.71 [2]), the expression of which is modulated by obesity, which in turn is influenced by both genetic and environmental (principally dietary) factors [3]. Although PCOS usually presents with reproductive and hyperandrogenic features, many women with the condition (compared with the general female population and following appropriate adjustment for BMI) also have adverse metabolic features, including increased prevalence of Type 2 diabetes (T2D), hypertension, hypercholesterolaemia, hypertriglyceridaemia and increased waist circumference [4]. In a retrospective cohort study of women from the UK, involving >300 women with PCOS and >1000 age-matched control women, it was shown that the proportion of women with confirmed T2D in each group was 6.9 and 3.0% respectively (P = 0.002) [4]. Following adjustment for BMI and in comparison with control women, the odds ratio for T2D in the women with PCOS was 2.2 (95% CI: 0.9–5.2) [4]. Furthermore, it has been shown that impaired glucose tolerance or T2D affects between 30 and 50% of young (age <30 years) and obese women with PCOS [5].

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Research Fellow and Specialist Registrar, Department of Endocrinology, Oxford Centre for Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK

    Thomas M. Barber

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. The London Endocrine Clinic, 21 Wimpole Street, WIG 8GG, London, UK

    Nadir R. Farid

  2. University of Athens Medical School, Athens, Greece

    Evanthia Diamanti-Kandarakis

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Barber, T.M. (2009). The Risk of Diabetes and Metabolic Syndrome in PCOS. In: Farid, N.R., Diamanti-Kandarakis, E. (eds) Diagnosis and Management of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-09718-3_9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-09718-3_9

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