Review on clinical manifestations and long-term consequences of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is the most common endocrine disorder among women of reproductive age and is the most common cause of infertility due to anovulation. Ovulatory dysfunction, hyperandrogenism and morphological appearance of polycystic ovaries are key features of this syndrome.Women with PCOS often seekmedical care for menstrual cycle disorders, clinical manifestations of hyperandrogenism and infertility. Menstrual disorders that are commonly seen in PCOS include oligomenorrhea, amenorrhea and prolonged irregular menstrual bleeding. The main clinical evidence of hyperandrogenism includes hirsutism, acneand androgenic alopecia. This syndrome is not a disease exclusive to fertility and adolescence period; even it can be associated with different effects on a patient's life. PCOS patients are at risk of type 2 diabetes, fat disorders, high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease and even endometrial cancer. There is also limited and contradictory evidence on the risk of ovarian and breast cancer in women with PCOS which requires further studies to prove it. Due to the high prevalence of PCOS, the complications and challenges associated with it can create a major health and economic burden in countries. Therefore, the physicians caring for these patients, along with treating fertility and cosmetic issues of patients with PCOS, should act to prevent it's long-term consequences. Therefore, in the present article, we will first give a brief overview of the common clinical features of this syndrome and then will discuss it's long-term consequences.
The search was done by using pubmed, google scholar, Elsevier and SID databases with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), menstrual disorders, hirsutism, acne, infertility, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer keywords. Among articles that published from 2006 to 2016, 37 papers were reviewed.