According to a new research study initiated by the researchers of McGill University have reported to identify polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) as an autonomous risk factor for hypertensive disorders and gestational diabetes of pregnancy. Moreover, PCOS is known to cause various reproductive complications, such as infertility, which affects one out of 10 women during gestation age. PCOS is also responsible for insulin resistance during perinatal period.
Dr. Michael Dahan, lead author, stated, “We discovered that PCOS is a risk factor for morbidity in pregnancy. We are now able to precisely determine the relative risk in pregnancy related to the disease process itself by controlling for underlying conditions, which previous studies were unable to do.â€
In the study, researchers utilized data of over nine million pregnancies from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project Nationwide Inpatient Sample (HCUP-NIS) database, which aided researchers to find association between pregnant women with PCOS and the incidence of thyroid disease, obesity, pregnancy hypertension, and pre-gestational and gestational diabetes. In addition, researchers also suggested that pregnant women with PCOS who underwent IVF treatment exhibited higher rates of congenital abnormalities in their children, in comparison to pregnant women without PCOS.
Researchers further suggested that it is vital to cogitate the risk of other associated conditions that are often encountered by women with PCOS, as these risks augments risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes. Researchers concluded that further studies are required to assess the role of specific interventions in PCOS on altering risk in pregnancy and delivery.