Objective: To determine if the hormonal imbalance in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) continues into and after menopause and to analyze factors constituting an increased risk for developing metabolic disorders.
Design: The study was a transectional retrospective cohort follow-up of patients with PCOS.
Setting: The women with PCOS were recruited from hospital clinics, and referents were randomized from a population study of women.
Participants: Thirty-three women ages 40 to 59 years with ovarian histopathology typical of PCOS at wedge resection 22 to 31 years previously; 132 age-matched referents were analyzed.
Main outcome measures: Clinical data were collected via a questionnaire supplemented with an interview in connection to a clinical examination that also included fasting venous sampling.
Results: Infertility, hirsutism, and oligomenorrhea were more common among the subjects with PCOS, but there was a considerable spontaneous restitution of cyclic regularity with time. Women with PCOS were more often hysterectomized and entered menopause later compared with referents. The hormone data show a typical profile for PCOS. Compared with referents women with PCOS showed marked increase in prevalence of central obesity, higher basal serum insulin concentrations, and a higher prevalence of diabetes mellitus and hypertension.
Conclusion: Perimenopausal women with PCOS have an increased morbidity in hypertension and diabetes mellitus that adds to the classic symptoms, such as anovulation, hirsutism, and infertility.