Social, Biological And Demographic Attributes Of Females Suffering From Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome

Abstract

Polycystic ovary syndrome is the name given to a condition in which women with polycystic ovaries also have one or more additional symptoms. It was first ‘discovered’ in 1935 by Doctors Stein and Leventhal, so for many years it was known as the Stein-Leventhal syndrome.

         Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is recognized as one of the most common endocrine/metabolic disorders in women. Its prevalence depends in part upon the diagnostic criteria used to define the disorder. As an example, in a report of 827 women with World Health Organization (WHO) class II oligoovulation (euestrogenic normogonadotropic ovulatory dysfunction), 456 (55 percent) were classified as having PCOS by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) 1990 criteria (irregular menses, biochemical and/or clinical hyperandrogenism, and other causes of hyperandrogenism excluded). In contrast, 754 (91 percent) women were considered to have PCOS using the broader Rotterdam 2003 criteria (which requires two out of three of the following: oligo- and/or anovulation,