Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) is a hormonal disorder that can cause women to have irregular or prolonged menstrual cycles or excess androgen (male hormone) levels. Because of the excess male hormone with this disease women are known to have excess facial and body hair, along with severe acne and male pattern baldness. Stereotypically speaking, the women we see that tend to be overweight and who have moustaches or dark, thick side burns are the women with PCOS. There are, also, cases where the ovaries enlarge and develop follicles so they do not release eggs regularly, these are called polycystic ovaries. PCOS tends to develop around the first time a woman has her menstrual cycle, however, there are cases where women develop it later in life due to weight gain.

With all of that said most people are probably wondering why this happens. The answer to that is that there isn’t an exact cause. However, there are factors that medical professionals have identified that might play a role in women developing PCOS. Excess insulin is one of the many factors. If you don’t know what insulin is, it is the hormone that allows cells to use the sugar you ingest to then provide your body with energy. Excess insulin can lead to an increase in androgen production, which makes it difficult for the body to ovulate. When a woman is ovulating, it means that an egg is being released from an ovary. This is a woman’s most fertile time of the month, so with the excess insulin causing this process not to happen it can make it very difficult or impossible for the woman to conceive unless she seeks further medical help.

Another factor that may play into a woman developing PCOS is low grade inflammation. Low grade inflammation is when white blood cells produce substances to fight infection. In women with PCOS there may not be an infection and it is just an immune response. When this happens to a woman’s body her ovaries begin producing androgens. Which, again, causes difficulty with ovulation but this can, also, lead to heart and blood vessel problems. What these all have in common is excess androgen, every woman has male hormones but in this case it is an amount that the woman’s body can’t handle without side effects such as acne, male pattern baldness, excess facial and body hair, as well difficulties with ovulating.

Last, but not least, a woman’s heredity can affect if she develops PCOS. Research has been done that suggests certain genes may be linked to PCOS. That does not automatically mean that a mother will give it to her daughter, but the daughter is at risk for developing it during puberty. There are cases where there is not a family history of PCOS or other hormone imbalances to make medical professionals believe this is something particularly from genetics.

Reference

Mayo Clinic. (2017). Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Retrieved from             http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/pcos/home/ovc-20342146