title: Prevalence of the polycystic ovary syndrome in female residents of Chengdu, China.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is one of the most common endocrine disorders in women. The data on this syndrome in a Chinese community are limited.
  
  
  METHODS
  A community-based cross-sectional survey was undertaken. Cluster-randomized sampling was used. Female residents of Chengdu aged between 12 and 44 were included according to the constituent ratio of the female population of Sichuan province. We used three diagnostic criteria to determine the prevalence: the National Institutes of Health diagnostic criteria of PCOS (NIH-1990), the revised Rotterdam diagnostic criteria of PCOS (Rott-2003), and the recommended diagnostic criteria of PCOS by the Androgen Excess Society (AES-2006).
  
  
  RESULTS
  1,645 participants were included. The prevalence of PCOS in women aged between 12 and 44 was 7.1, 11.2 and 7.4%, respectively, according to the three different criteria. After the onset of puberty, the prevalence of PCOS increased rapidly from 12 to 14 years of age, peaked between 15 and 24 and decreased gradually thereafter and reached its lowest point before menopause.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The prevalence of PCOS in this study was in the PCOS prevalence range from existing studies. According to the trend of prevalence, PCOS might be a temporary condition.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, West China Second University Hospital, Chengdu, China.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhuang
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Liangzhi
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Xiaofang
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Lingling
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Liulin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.forename: Deying
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.forename: Wenqi
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.forename: Min
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: He
authors.forename: Fan
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Dongsheng
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Qiu
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D011085:Polycystic Ovary Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015995:Prevalence; D055815:Young Adult