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Reproductive and Obstetrical Consequences of the Polycystic Ovary Syndrome

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Androgen Excess Disorders in Women

Part of the book series: Contemporary Endocrinology ((COE))

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Abstract

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a disorder associated with infertility and subfecundity. There is evidence that both the oocyte and the endometrium have abnormalities that contribute to these disorders. These reproductive abnormalities include anovulation, increased early pregnancy wastage, and probable increased risk for a number of pregnancy complications including gestational diabetes and hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, such as pre-eclampsia. Ovulation induction holds the additional iatrogenic risks of multiple pregnancy and ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome. Gonadotropins and gonadotropin agonist therapies should be used with caution in this group of patients. There is emerging evidence that insulin-sensitizing therapy provides benefit for a wide variety of these reproductive abnormalities. In the long term, women with PCOS have multiple risk factors for the development of endometrial cancer, including centripetal obesity, hyperinsulinemia, diabetes, and chronic anovulation, although the association between PCOS and this cancer is less well established in the epidemiological literature. There is little evidence to date that insulin-sensitizing therapies protect against the development of endometrial hyperplasia and cancer.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Penn State College of Medicine, Penn State University College of Medicine, M.S. Hershey Medical Center, Hershey, PA

    Mary C. Johnson

  2. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey, PA

    Richard S. Legro

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  1. Mary C. Johnson
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  2. Richard S. Legro
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Androgen Related Disorders, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center; and Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and Department of Medicine, The David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA

    Ricardo Azziz MD, MPH, MBA

  2. Department of Internal Medicine, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA

    John E. Nestler MD

  3. Department of Endocrine Gynaecology and Reproductive Medicine, Lille University Hospital, Lille, France

    Didier Dewailly MD

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© 2006 Humana Press Inc., Totowa, NJ

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Johnson, M.C., Legro, R.S. (2006). Reproductive and Obstetrical Consequences of the Polycystic Ovary Syndrome. In: Azziz, R., Nestler, J.E., Dewailly, D. (eds) Androgen Excess Disorders in Women. Contemporary Endocrinology. Humana Press. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59745-179-6_30

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59745-179-6_30

  • Publisher Name: Humana Press

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-58829-663-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-59745-179-6

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

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