Did you know that your ethnic background may lead to increased risk of PCOS?

As you know, women diagnosed with PCOS have a high occurrence of metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes mellitus. To understanding ethnic differences in metabolic syndrome among women with PCOS Engmann L, et al. published their randomised controlled trial in the American Journal of Obstet andgynecoldgy in 2017. Data on 702 women with polycystic ovarian syndrome aged 18-40 years who met criteria were included in the study. Women were grouped into racial/ethnic categories: non-Hispanic whites, non-Hispanic blacks, and Hispanic. The main outcomes were the prevalence of insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, and hyperandrogenemia in the different racial/ethnic groups. The results: 1. Body mass index and waist circumference did not differ significantly between non-Hispanic white, non-Hispanic black, and Hispanic women. 2. Hispanic women with PCOS had a significantly higher prevalence of facial hair growth (hirsutism - 93.8% vs 86.8%), abnormal free androgen in the blood (75.8% vs 56.5%) compared to non-Hispanic whites. 3. Non-Hispanic black women had a significantly lower prevalence of metabolic syndrome (24.5% vs 42.2%) compared with Hispanic (latin American) women, and lower serum triglyceride levels compared to both Hispanics and non-Hispanic whites (85.7 ± 37.3 vs 130.2 ± 57.0 vs 120.1 ± 60.5

mg/dL, P < .01), with a markedly lower prevalence of hypertriglyceridemia (5.1% vs 28.3% vs 30.5%, P < .01) compared to the other 2 groups. 4 Hispanic women with PCOS suffer more the most severe phenotype, both in terms of hyperandrogenism and metabolic criteria. Non-Hispanic black women have an overall milder polycystic ovarian syndrome phenotype than Hispanics and in some respects, than non-Hispanic white women. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.