Polycystic Ovary Syndrome among Kashmiri women above 30 per cent: ICMR

Sajidah Yousuf
Srinagar: As per the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) national task force, the prevalence of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) among Kashmiri women is above 30 percent by Rotterdam Criteria, which probably is the highest percentage globally.
As per the official figures available, Kashmiri women have 33.3 percent by Rotterdam Criteria of PCOS, which means out of these three, anovulation, hyperandrogenism or polycystic ovaries, two must be present on ultrasound of the woman with PCOS.
The data further reveals that prevalence of PCOS among Kashmiri women is 28.9 percent by National Institute of Health (NIH) criteria, which is the criteria earlier used to diagnose PCOS in women.
The NIH criteria are based on hyperandrogenism and chronic anovulation or on Sonographic findings of polycystic ovaries in women.
As per ICMR, 34.3 percent by Androgen Excess (AE)-PCOS criteria of PCOS is prevalent in Kashmiri women. AE-PCOS criteria of PCOS is the presence of hyperandrogenism (clinical and/or biochemical), ovarian dysfunction (oligo-anovulation and/or polycystic ovaries), and the exclusion of related disorders in the women with PCOS.
ICMR national task force defines all the three criteria of PCOS present in Kashmiri women, probably the highest percentage globally.
Pertinently, polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a long-term, highly prevalent, complex endocrine disorder characterised by a multitude of metabolic and reproductive disorders. It affects 6-23 percent of reproductive age women globally, though the estimated frequency can rise up to 33 percent depending on the diagnostic criteria used.