Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS): Symptoms, Causes, and Treatment By Dr. Pooja Bansal
PCOS is a problem with hormones that affects women during their childbearing years (ages 15 to 44). Between 2.2 and 26.7 percent of women in this age group have PCOS. Many women have PCOS but don’t know it. In one study, up to 70 percent of women with PCOS hadn’t been diagnosed (2Trusted Source). PCOS affects a woman’s ovaries, the reproductive organs that produce estrogen and progesterone — hormones that regulate the menstrual cycle. The ovaries also produce a small number of male hormones called androgens. The ovaries release eggs to be fertilized by a man’s sperm. The release of an egg each month is called ovulation. PCOS is a “syndrome,” or group of symptoms that affects the ovaries and ovulation. Its three main features are: cysts in the ovaries high levels of male hormones irregular or skipped periods In PCOS, many small, fluid-filled sacs grow inside the ovaries. The word “polycystic” means “many cysts.” What causes it? Doctors don’t know exactly what causes PCOS.