High androgen levels during pregnancy increase the risk of PCOS for several generations
Daughters of women with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) are five times more likely to be diagnosed with PCOS as adults, and the generational transmission is driven by high androgen levels during pregnancy, researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden report. Their results, which are based on register-based and clinical studies as well as transgenerational animal studies, are published in Nature Medicine.PCOS affects more than ten percent of women of fertile age and is characterised by high levels of androgens (male sex hormones), ovulation disorders and difficulties conceiving. The