Polycystic Ovary Syndrome Linked to Heart Disease

A study has found that young women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) have metabolic abnormalities, including higher levels of lipids and insulin, that may result in premature atherosclerosis. The study, conducted by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh (PA, USA), was published in the November issue of Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology.

The study involved 125 PCOS patients and 142 controls who were at least 30 years old. All underwent sonography of the carotid arteries in the neck to evaluate the presence of carotid plaque and carotid intima-media wall thickness (IMT), two signs of atherosclerosis that predict cardiovascular disease. The researchers found that 21.6% of women with PCOS had plaque in their carotid arteries, compared with only 15.5% of women in the control group. PCOS women 45 and over had more significant plaque than the controls. Likewise, IMT was significantly higher among PCOS women after 45, compared with slight elevations among controls.

"It is important that physicians recognize these reproductive symptoms as signs of a broader, chronic disorder and treat it accordingly, with early lifestyle interventions and/or medications that will reduce cardiovascular disease risk,” said Evelyn Talbott, Dr. P.H., associate professor of epidemiology at the University of Pittsburgh's Graduate School of Public Health and principal investigator on the study.



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