Higher menopausal age but no differences in parity in women with polycystic ovary syndrome compared with controls

To address the question of whether women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) reach menopause later than age-matched controls, we conducted a follow-up cohort study of women with well-characterized PCOS that was diagnosed 24 years ago. The hypothesis was that women with PCOS would reach menopause later than non-PCOS women. Parity during these 24 years was also studied.

Twenty-seven women diagnosed with PCOS in 1992 (mean age 29.5 years) were re-examined in 2016 (mean age 52.4 years). Randomly selected women, n = 94 (mean age 52.4 years), from the same geographic area included in the World Health Organization MONICA study, Gothenburg, Sweden, served as controls.

The mean menopausal age in women with PCOS was higher than in controls (53.3 ± 2.2 years vs 49.3 ± 3.5 years, P < 0.01). Serum-follicle stimulating hormone levels were lower in the PCOS women than in controls (31.0 ± 28.1 IU/L vs 52.3 ± 37.7 IU/L, P = 0.01). There was no difference in parity between women with PCOS (1.9 ± 1.3 children, range 0-4) and controls (1.7 ± 1.0, range 0-4 children).

Women with PCOS reached menopause 4 years later and had lower serum-follicle stimulating hormone compared with age-matched controls. Neither parity nor nulliparity differed between women with PCOS and controls.