Prospective Cohort Evaluation of Hirsutism and Anthropometrics in a Southeast Asian PCOS Population
September 2017
in “
Fertility and sterility
”
TLDR Vietnamese women with PCOS tend to be younger, have larger waists, higher AMH levels, and more body hair than those without PCOS.
In a prospective cohort study conducted in Hue City, Vietnam, 224 women with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) and 212 infertile controls without PCOS were evaluated to characterize PCOS in the South East Asian population. The study found that PCOS patients were younger and had a greater waist circumference than the controls, despite similar height and weight. Anti-Mullerian Hormone (AMH) levels were three times higher in PCOS patients, and this difference persisted even after adjusting for age. AMH levels were negatively correlated with waist circumference in PCOS women but not in non-PCOS women. Hirsutism was more prevalent in PCOS women (38% vs. 6%), with hair growth primarily on the arms, legs, and pubic region, rather than the face and chin. This study highlights that Vietnamese women with PCOS have distinct anthropometric characteristics and a unique pattern of hirsutism compared to the general infertility population.