Condition in 13% of women of reproductive age linked to tripled heart attack and stroke risk

A major study published in The Lancet Obstetrics, Gynaecology & Women's Health has revealed that younger women diagnosed with polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome (PMOS) face a strikingly elevated risk of serious cardiovascular events.

The research found that those with the condition were 4.4 times more likely to develop heart disease resulting from blocked and hardened arteries. Their risk of suffering a heart attack or stroke was 3.5 times greater than that of unaffected women.

The findings are particularly concerning given that PMOS — previously referred to as polycystic ovarian syndrome, or PCOS — affects a substantial proportion of the female population of reproductive age.

The condition's reach extends well beyond gynaecological health, the study's authors warned.

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PMOS is a hormonal disorder affecting the ovaries, disrupting the normal process of ovulation and leading to the formation of ovarian cysts.

These cysts produce androgens — male hormones — which can impair fertility and contribute to a range of additional health complications.

Between 10 per cent and 13 per cent of women of childbearing age are thought to have the condition. Alarmingly, up to seven in ten of those affected remain undiagnosed.

The syndrome was formerly known as polycystic ovarian syndrome, but medical experts agreed earlier this year to adopt the new terminology.

The renaming was intended to more accurately capture the condition's true character.

As Dr Anuja Dokras, the study's senior author, noted: "While the word polycystic was a misnomer, the effects of PMOS extend far beyond gynecologic health, as we show in our new research."

The study drew on an extensive dataset encompassing more than 2.4 million women aged 18 to 50, of whom over 413,000 had received a PMOS diagnosis. Records spanning from 2000 to 2022 were analysed.

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Beyond the headline figures on arterial disease and heart attack risk, the results painted an even more troubling picture.

Women with PMOS had nearly five times the odds of experiencing a transient ischaemic attack — often regarded as a precursor to a full stroke.

The likelihood of peripheral artery disease, in which arteries supplying the limbs become narrowed or blocked, was similarly elevated at close to five times the norm.

Elevated blood pressure, raised cholesterol and diabetes were identified as particularly significant contributing factors to cardiovascular illness among women living with the syndrome.

Dr Dokras, who serves as director of the Penn Polyendocrine Metabolic Ovarian Syndrome Center in Philadelphia, stressed the urgency of clinical vigilance.

"Our work shows that it is imperative for clinicians to closely track and evaluate cardiovascular health in patients with PMOS," she said.

She also emphasised the importance of individual responsibility, urging those with the condition to manage modifiable risk factors.

"It is also important for all individuals with PMOS to care for their heart health and control other factors that can lead to poor cardiovascular health, including smoking, inactivity, obesity, high LDL cholesterol, diabetes and high blood pressure," she added.

The updated name, Dr Dokras observed, reflects the involvement of multiple hormones within the endocrine system.

She expressed hope that the revised terminology would encourage doctors to deliver more holistic care to their patients.

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