title: Intergenerational associations of chronic disease and polycystic ovary syndrome.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common female endocrine disorder of heterogeneous clinical presentation, high disease burden, and unknown aetiology. The disease and associated conditions cluster in families, suggesting that PCOS may be the reproductive consequence of underlying chronic disease susceptibility.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To determine whether parents of young women with PCOS were more likely to have a history of diabetes or cardiovascular disease in later adult life.
  
  
  METHODS
  Structured interviews with 715 members of a cohort constructed by tracing female infants born at a single general hospital in Adelaide between 1973 and 1975. Participants were asked whether they had a pre-existing medical diagnosis of PCOS, and whether each parent had ever had high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, stroke, or heart disease. Maternal high blood pressure during pregnancy was taken from the medical record of the pregnancy with the study participant.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Mothers of women with PCOS were more likely than mothers of other women to have any cardiovascular disease (RR 1.78, 95% CI 1.29, 2.47), and nearly twice as likely to have high blood pressure (RR 1.95, 95% CI 1.38, 2.76). Fathers of women with PCOS were more than twice as likely to have heart disease (RR 2.36, 95% CI 1.44, 3.88) and over four times as likely to have had a stroke (RR 4.37, 95% CI 1.97, 9.70). Occurrence of cardiovascular disease in both mother and father are associated with the risk of PCOS in daughters. Further detailed study is required to elucidate the precise pathways that may be causally related to the observations.
authors: Discipline of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Robinson Institute, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia. michael.davies@adelaide.edu.au
authors: Michael J
authors: MJ
authors: Davies
authors: Jennifer L
authors: JL
authors: Marino
authors: Kristyn J
authors: KJ
authors: Willson
authors: Wendy A
authors: WA
authors: March
authors: Vivienne M
authors: VM
authors: Moore
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003710:Demography; D005191:Family Characteristics; D005260:Female; D006262:Health; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D011085:Polycystic Ovary Syndrome / Q000150:complications*