Epidemiology

PCOS affects about 6% of women of reproductive age in the US and Europe using the 1990 National Institutes of Health criteria, 10% to 15% of women using the Androgen Excess and PCOS Society criteria, and 10% to 20% of women using the 2003 Rotterdam criteria.​​[7][8]​​​​ Similar rates are reported in China (10%) and Mexico (6%), suggesting the prevalence does not vary across ethnicities or different regions of the world.[9][10][11]​​​​

There do seem to be differences in the phenotype of PCOS within and between countries.[8][12]​​​ For example, studies report greater impairments in glucoregulatory status in Hispanic compared with white women in the US, and lower rates of ovulatory PCOS in the US compared with Europe.[8][13]​ The reported frequency of hirsutism is lower in East Asia and higher among indigenous Australians.[7][11]

There have been no prospective studies that document incidence rates for PCOS.

PCOS accounts for 80% to 90% of cases of hyperandrogenism in women. In one large series of women presenting with androgen excess or ovulatory dysfunction, approximately 80% had PCOS, 3% had the hyperandrogenism-insulin resistance-acanthosis nigricans syndrome, 1.5% had 21-hydroxylase-deficient nonclassic adrenal hyperplasia, 0.6% had 21-hydroxylase-deficient classic adrenal hyperplasia, and 0.2% had androgen-secreting tumors.[14]

Men in families with PCOS may have manifestations including excessive hairiness, premature male-pattern baldness, elevated levels of dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate, abnormal hormonal responses to dynamic testing, and aberrations in insulin sensitivity and secretion.[15][16]

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