PCOS: Matter Of Eggs And Far Beyond

Dr. Pooja Vaswani – Consultant Obstetrics & Gynaecology.

NMC Royal Hospital, Abu Dhabi

Quite many times in our daily practice we come across women who are diagnosed to have Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS), the incidence of which is on an increase. It affects about 10% of women. It’s the word “PCOS” that catches any woman’s attention, as more often than not she would have heard about PCOS from her friends/ mother or sisters. Immediate question that comes to the mind of the woman is “will I be able to conceive?”

Ofcourse maternal instinct is paramount and being a gynecologist women with PCOS come to me with concerns that are either cosmetic or reproductive. As gynecologist we cater to reproductive goal,however it is to be kept in mind that as a doctor our role does not end there. PCOS has long term implications too which can go far beyond the reproductive age.Many studies confirm that the insulin resistance associated with PCOS can expose women to higher risk of metabolic syndrome which could be a combination of hypertension; hyperlipidemia, diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Apart from these metabolic disorders, women with PCOS are also at an increased risk of developing endometrial, ovarian and possibly also breast cancer in later life.

 There is a need for a holistic approach in dealing with PCOS keeping in mind that contrary to what the name implies, PCOS implications are not restricted just to sex organs but go way beyond, affecting many other organs in the body which can have profound effect on long term health of the women. These women should be evaluated for these conditions accordingly on a more frequent basis.

 Every responsible gynecologist should utilize every potential opportunity to evaluate and educate the patients about ways to prevent these potentially threatening long term metabolic and malignant disorders by intervening at the earliest.