Women With PCOS At Double The Risk For Hospitalizations, Developing Other Conditions

The results of this study are not surprising given that the incidence of insulin-related diseases, such as obesity and diabetes, has risen dramatically over the last century. While our genetics have not changed for thousands of years, what has changed is the addition of stressors to daily life, a transition to a more sedentary lifestyle, and the change in the quality and quantity of healthy food choices.

Historically, women with PCOS inherited a great set of genes that encouraged a low-calorie metabolic life and provided their ovaries with an abundance of insulin and gonadotropin-sensitive follicles. But today’s fast-paced, modern lifestyle has caused these efficient genes to go into metabolic overdrive, and women with PCOS are left with a disease that instead causes numerous issues affecting their health, fertility, and physical appearance.

These problematic issues can be treated by realizing the symptoms associated with PCOS are linked. PCOS is similar to Syndrome X, a cluster of high-insulin metabolic symptoms that are significant risk factors for obesity, diabetes, hypertension, and coronary artery disease. In the 1980s, Dr. Gerald Reaven, a distinguished professor emeritus at Stanford University, coined the name Syndrome X to describe this constellation of symptoms.

But while the insulin-lowering treatments recommended by doctors for Syndrome X could prove beneficial to women, they do not address the specific health issues women will experience during their reproductive years. For that reason, I conceived of the name Syndrome O to describe the connection between Syndrome X, insulin, and the female reproductive system.

The hallmarks of Syndrome O are overnourishment, ovarian confusion, and ovulation disruption. Overnourishment describes the metabolic state of women for whom the wrong quantity and quality of calories are being consumed; ovarian confusion refers to the reaction of the ovaries when exposed to large quantities of insulin hormones; ovulation disruption is what occurs when insulin signals in a woman’s body are so out of balance that they prevent ovulation.

The goal of most women with Syndrome O who come to our center is pregnancy. The key to managing Syndrome O lies in finding an advocate who will encourage women to take control of their overall wellness to optimize their chance for pregnancy. However, many women with Syndrome O have trouble maintaining a healthy weight despite eating well and making good lifestyle choices, and my advice for these women is not to give up. An enthusiasm for health and fitness is needed to reach these goals, but it is difficult to maintain such enthusiasm alone. Our Clinician Director of Fertility Wellness, Rhonda Wright, has been successful in creating individualized wellness plans and guiding many of our patients to better reproductive health.

With over two-thirds of the adult U.S. population today classified as overweight or obese, there is no more appropriate time to revisit Syndrome O and its impact on women. Through persistence and making continually good choices about their health, women with Syndrome O will meet their goals, whether that is overcoming challenges with weight, improving appearance, or having a healthy baby.