By: Nazima Maqbool
Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS), one of the familiar disorders of unclear etiology is an endocrine disorder affecting progenitive women ultimately inducing infertility and depression. It has also been seen as one of the risk factors for cardiometabolic disease. As stated by WHO, over 116 million women [3.4%] are affected by this defect across the globe. Besides this, an approximate of 6-10% belonging to the fertile aged group suffers from this disorder.
As far as India is concerned, a large-scale survey conducted in the year 2020, a total of about 16% of women respondents falling in the age group of 20 to 29 years were found suffering from this type of disorder. As per the study carried out by Ashraf et.al from 2013- 2015 PCOS is more prevalent among Kashmiri women and is probably the highest.
This disorder is usually diagnosed in the reproductive stage of the life of a woman when confronted with infertility or because of the symptoms of menstrual irregularities or anovulation, clinical or biochemical hyperandrogenism and polycystic ovaries. Meanwhile 50% of the women diagnosed with PCOS are obese, but no incidence of PCOS being caused by obesity has been reported. Also, the mechanism underlying its primary origin still is obscure, although there is evidence regarding the role of life style factors in the development of this type of syndrome. PCOS, a multifactorial condition initially develops in adolescents who are at high risk for the appearance of multimorbidity’s including obesity, endometrial dysplasia, infertility, type2diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and psychotic disorders.
In some women PCOS develop due to predominant genes depicting the genetic role. Even environmental factors also play a significant role in developing PCOS and allied complications. All these factors ultimately result in hyperinsulinemia. Besides this, women with PCOS are insulin resistant. Their bodies cannot use it effectively, increasing their risk for type 2 diabetes. Women with PCOS can develop serious health problems, especially if they are overweight like heart diseases, high blood pressure, sleep apnea and stroke. Pcos is also linked to depression and anxiety.
The writer is from Department of zoology, University of Kashmir.
