ABSTRACT

DEFINITION/OVERVIEW Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is the most common endocrine disorder of females of reproductive age and the most common cause of menstrual irregularity, occurring in as many as 10% of women in this age group. Various definitions have been proposed to confirm the diagnosis. The Rotterdam conference proposed that two of three criteria must be present including polycystic ovaries on ultrasound, oligoor anovulation, and hyperandrogenism, while a National Institutes of Health (NIH) consensus concluded that the sonographic findings may not be required to make the diagnosis. Some authorities note that many women actually have regular menses, but have hyperandrogenism and sonographically normal ovaries. Obviously with such variable defini tions, the diagnosis is often one of exclusion of other disorders presenting with oligomenorr hea, anovulation, or hyper - androgenism (see below).