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Definition and Epidemiology of the Polycystic Ovary Syndrome

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Androgen Excess Disorders in Women

Part of the book series: Contemporary Endocrinology ((COE))

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Abstract

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a heterogeneous disorder of functional androgen excess, although its definition remains fluid and controversial. PCOS is characterized by clinical and/or biochemical hyperandrogenism and is frequently accompanied by ovulatory dysfunction and polycystic ovaries. PCOS is a diagnosis of exclusion, with other androgen excess and related disorders to be excluded. Two principal definitions are in use today: one arising from an expert conference sponsored by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in 1990 (NIH 1990 criteria) and the other from another expert conference sponsored by the European Society for Human Reproduction and Embryology and the American Society for Reproductive Medicine in 2003 in Rotterdam (Rotterdam 2003 criteria). The prevalence of PCOS among unselected reproductive-aged women is at least 6.5– 8.0% using the NIH 1990 criteria. Future studies must establish the prevalence of the disorder in different populations and using the various criteria proposed to define PCOS. Finally, studies on the long-term development of reproductive and metabolic abnormalities in women with the two new phenotypes of PCOS defined by Rotterdam 2003 are needed to determine whether these have risks similar to classic PCOS.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center; Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and Department of Medicine, The David Geffen School of Medicine at University of California, Los Angeles, CA

    Ricardo Azziz

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  1. Ricardo Azziz
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Androgen Related Disorders, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center; and Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and Department of Medicine, The David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA

    Ricardo Azziz MD, MPH, MBA

  2. Department of Internal Medicine, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA

    John E. Nestler MD

  3. Department of Endocrine Gynaecology and Reproductive Medicine, Lille University Hospital, Lille, France

    Didier Dewailly MD

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© 2006 Humana Press Inc., Totowa, NJ

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Azziz, R. (2006). Definition and Epidemiology of the Polycystic Ovary Syndrome. In: Azziz, R., Nestler, J.E., Dewailly, D. (eds) Androgen Excess Disorders in Women. Contemporary Endocrinology. Humana Press. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59745-179-6_13

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59745-179-6_13

  • Publisher Name: Humana Press

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-58829-663-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-59745-179-6

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