An overview of polycystic ovary syndrome in aging women

The manifestations of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), a ubiquitous reproductive disorder, may vary significantly depending on the severity of a number of endocrine and metabolic changes. Although no diagnostic criteria are presently available for PCOS for perimenopausal and menopausal women, the condition can still be suspected in case of a previous diagnosis of the condition, a chronic history of irregular menstrual cycles and hyperandrogenism, and/or polycystic ovarian morphology during the reproductive period. PCOS is associated with long-term health risks, including obesity, diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia, metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular risk factors during reproductive age, especially in patients possessing classic phenotypes. The aim of this review was to outline the available data about the impact of PCOS on long-term health risks after reproductive age in patients with PCOS. Previously, it was assumed that women with PCOS would be more prone to develop cardiometabolic diseases after reproductive age but current data suggest that in accordance with the healing in the phenotypic characteristics of PCOS, no deterioration appears to occur in cardiometabolic health in these patients. While there is substantial evidence for a greater prevalence of abnormal subclinical atherosclerotic markers among younger patients with PCOS, data for older women are insufficient. However, there is also support for an increased risk of endometrial cancer in PCOS patients. Extensive prospective cohort studies in which healthy controls as well as patients with defining PCOS phenotypes are observed and monitored from the early reproductive period into the late postmenopausal period should now be performed in order to clarify morbidities and mortality in aging women with PCOS.