VIDEO. What is PCOS syndrome that affects some women?

Djata is 19 years old. In 2018, the young woman was diagnosed with PCOS, that is to say affected by polycystic ovary syndrome. “This syndrome is very common, it affects 10 to 15% of women depending on the country.” says Dr Maëliss Peigné, medical gynecologist, reproductive doctor at the Jean Verdier hospital in Bondy. Information in France on this syndrome is still relatively weak. “There are two associations, SOPK Europe and Asso’SOPK, but which are less than five years old. It’s still quite recent but I’m hopeful that the information will spread.”. She adds that PCOS brings together several symptoms: “It is characterized by cycle disorders, therefore patients who have irregular periods. Hyperandrogenism is when we have an increase in testosterone. These are women who will sometimes have significant and severe acne, which will persist into adulthood. Hirsutism, that is to say the presence of fairly coarse and black hairs in areas where women normally do not have them. And then the last sign: ovaries with lots of follicles that we see on the ultrasound”.

“We cannot get rid of this syndrome. We are born with it”

PCOS is referred to as “polycystic ovary syndrome”, a term which “comes from Stein and Leventhal who discovered it and described it in 1935. They said that it was women who had lots of large cysts on their ovaries. And it stayed. But these are not cysts, they are small follicles, the structures which contain the eggs, which are in greater number”. According to Dr Maëliss Peigné, people affected by PCOS are more likely to develop obesity or overweight. Also, they can present a “insulin resistance, and that will over time be the bedrock for developing diabetes. This is one of the major complications for which we really need to have regular screening”.

For the medical gynecologist, the first treatment recommended for patients with PCOS is “to have the most balanced diet possible and then to have physical activity too. (…) This will help prevent the progression of the disease”. Weight gain, depression, anxiety, absence of periods, acne, increased hair growth… Affected by the syndrome, Djata noticed a certain number of symptoms. The young woman uses food supplements to try to alleviate some of them. Dr Maëliss Peigné adds that patients can also be faced with infertility: “We may have women who have difficulty getting pregnant because they do not ovulate regularly. So be careful, we are not sterile since there are still ovulations of normal quality. But, as there are fewer of them, it reduces the chances”.