Cardiometabolic Complications of PCOS

Abstract

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) has reproductive, metabolic, dermatological, and psychological clinical features. While the reproductive features have been the best recognised; however, in more in recent times, the metabolic characteristics and extended cardiometabolic sequelae of PCOS have gained increasing acknowledgment. Women with PCOS have higher rates of obesity, longitudinal weight gain and central adiposity compared to women without PCOS (1, 2). Insulin resistance is a key pathophysiological feature in PCOS, is present independent of obesity and is exacerbated by obesity (3) and contributes to metabolic complications. Women with PCOS have a 1.9-fold increased risk of metabolic syndrome and clustering of cardiovascular risk factors (4). The incidence of type 2 diabetes is higher and onset earlier in women with PCOS, independent of body mass index (5). Dyslipidaemia is increased in women with PCOS, with the relationship largely mediated by obesity (6). Despite clustering of cardiovascular risk factors, the question of whether women with PCOS face an elevated risk of cardiovascular disease have remained uncertain. Nevertheless, more recent, and substantial evidence indicates that women with PCOS are indeed at an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. This is supported by higher odds ratios and/or incidence rate ratios for composite cardiovascular disease, ischaemic heart disease, stroke, and cardiovascular mortality. It is important to acknowledge, however, that the overall risk of cardiovascular disease among pre-menopausal women remains low (7).