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Polycystic ovary syndrome, whose World Awareness Day takes place this Sunday, September 1, affects nearly one in ten women. However, this disease remains little known to the general public.
PCOS: the four-letter acronym is very little known to the general public, while this disease, polycystic ovary syndrome, is very common and potentially very disabling for thousands of women. This disorder due to a hormonal imbalance would thus be the leading cause of female infertility, according to Inserm. On the occasion of World PCOS Awareness Day this Sunday, September 1, Liberation takes stock of this pathology which affects more than one in ten women.
What is polycystic ovarian syndrome?
PCOS, or polycystic ovary syndrome, is a pathology due to a hormonal imbalance – of ovarian or pituitary (brain) origin – whose causes remain unknown. It results in an overproduction of male hormones, particularly testosterone, which are usually not very present in the female body. The ovulation cycle in women of childbearing age is then unable to function properly.
“In connection with this hormonal imbalance, the follicles that should normally transform into eggs will not be able to complete their development during the ovulation phase. They will then all accumulate in the ovary, and will give it this swollen appearance,” explains Nasrine Callet, gynecologist at the Curie Institute, contacted by Release. This is also what explains why PCOS is responsible for chronic infertility.
