The Jean Hailes Foundation for Women’s Health has called on general practitioners to be alert when treating women with a range of symptoms that signal polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS).

Up to one in 10 women of reproductive age lives with symptoms of PCOS, unaware that they could be suffering serious long-term damage. Damage which is preventable.

Little understood and under-recognised, the hormonal disorder is the most common reason for infertility in Australian women.

New research conducted by the Jean Hailes Foundation for Women’s Health and Monash University has been published in the international Journal of Endocrinology and Metabolism.

It reveals that women with PCOS have higher levels of the hormone insulin and higher blood fat or cholesterol levels as well as evidence of early blood vessel damage. These findings confirm the increased risk for these women of developing diabetes and suggest an increased risk of heart disease, even at a young age. The study is one of the first to highlight that this risk is independent of body weight and is related directly to PCOS.

The Foundation has called on women who are worried to act early; to seek advice and education, to manage the symptoms of the condition and to prevent long-term complications.

Dr Helena Teede, Director of Research at the Foundation, says: “A woman with PCOS often has a tough time. There is a lot of misinformation in the community on this condition and new research is constantly emerging, making it difficult for doctors and health professionals to keep up with the major advances in knowledge.”

Women with PCOS may have:

• Difficulty becoming pregnant
• Irregular and heavy periods
• Multiple small follicles on the ovary
• Weight gain
• Facial hair growth
• Acne
• High levels of blood fats

The cause is not yet clearly defined, however it is known to be a combination of genetic and lifestyle factors including inactivity, nutrition and excess body weight (in some but not all women).

“Recent research tells us that the body is resistant to the hormone insulin. It cannot function normally, affecting the way cells handle blood sugar and causing other hormonal imbalances, which interact to affect the function of the ovaries,” Dr Teede, an endocrinologist (hormone specialist) says.

Long-term risks are preventable, but for those who are not monitored and treated they include:

Type 2 diabetes

High blood fats

High blood pressure

Potentially heart disease

Thickening and abnormal cell changes in the womb lining (if less than 4 cycles each year)

Blood tests are needed regularly to assess the condition, including a detailed blood sugar test to assess for prediabetes and diabetes, even in young women, as well as blood fat levels and blood pressure checks. An ultrasound of the ovaries is also often required.

Management always needs to be individualised, depending on the main features in each woman. Weight loss and healthy eating, as well as optimal activity levels, are key components. Medical therapy can include metformin to make the body more sensitive to insulin or the oral contraceptive pill, preferably lower dose pills, are used to regulate periods. In those with fertility problems many therapies are available and these need to be managed by a health professional.

Dr Teede and a woman living with PCOS are available for interview by calling Aleeza Zohar on (03) 9562 6771 or 0425 758 729.

Page created November 10, 2005
Content November 10, 2005