Mumbai : Around 10 per cent Indian women are affected with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS), says a recent study. PCOS leads to hormonal imbalance in the reproductive age group which affects women’s ability to conceive, causes irregular periods and miscarriages. In the wake of rising PCOS patients, PCOS India Chapter has been inaugurated which will work towards providing 360 degree care for PCOS patients.
Further, the PCOS society plans to develop recommendations and protocols for the management of PCOS patients in India. Dr Rekha Sheth, vice president of PCOS Society, said, “We have been noting a drastic rise in the number of PCOS patients in our practice. Although the general prevalence of PCOS is supposed to be around 10 per cent, almost 6 to 7 out of 10 females who come to our clinic for any skin or hair problem happened to have PCOS as an underlying causative factor. In order to give our patients the best it is absolutely essential to have a multidisciplinary approach and hence the need for a PCOS society.”
PCOS is not a disease but a syndrome of multiple symptoms and signs and every woman may not have all the possible symptoms, hence the diagnosis becomes problematic, say experts. Dr Duru Shah, founder president of PCOS Society, said, “We need to prevent metabolic syndrome and its associated cardiac problems, cancer of the uterus, severe obesity which commonly occur in PCOS women at an older age. It is extremely important to make a timely and correct diagnosis of PCOS when girls or women come to us with their symptoms, and convince them to have a regular follow up; by self-determination and self-discipline in their own lifestyle, women themselves can overcome this difficult situation and live healthy lives.”
