[Natural history of polycyclic ovary syndrome]

Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) occurs in 3-6% women of reproductive age. The Rotterdam 2003 criteria for PCOS diagnosis include: oligo or anovulation, hyperandrogenism and a typical clinical picture of polycystic ovaries in the USG image when other causes of hypoestrogenism are excluded. The etiology of the syndrome remains largely unknown. In 30-60% cases of women with PCOS, obesity is observed. The aim of the present study was to track the natural history of PCOS by observing the disorders in different stages of the female patient's life starting with infancy through childhood and adolescence, then full sexual maturity period, which is the best known one and up to around menopause period. Each of these life stages is characterized by different specificity of disorders. In the fetal and infant period the focus should be placed on the influence of hormonal disorders in mother on PCOS induction. Childhood is the period when the observation is focused on fenotypical features that may indicate the risk of PCOS development. In the reproductive period, which is the most widely known, the focus is understandably on fertility disorders, however metabolic disorders are also quite often manifested. In PCOS patients around menopause, metabolic disorders are of primary focus for exemple mostly the risk of the development of diabetes type 2 as well ascardiovascular system diseases. Such versatility of coexistent disorders in one syndrome and variability depending on a woman's age call for closer examination of these relations and dependencies.