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REPRODUCTIVE ENDOCRINOLOGY

Transgenerational effects of polycystic ovary syndrome identified

Nature Reviews Endocrinology volume 16, page 67 (2020)Cite this article

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A new study published in Nature Medicine has shown that the daughters of women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) are five times more likely to be diagnosed with the disorder than daughters born to women without PCOS. The authors also identified genes that might indicate a PCOS phenotype in future generations.

In the present study, Stener-Victorin, Deng and colleagues investigated whether the PCOS-like phenotype observed in the first-generation offspring could be transmitted to the second generation as well as the third generation, who are the first generation to be completely unexposed to the disease. The team started by analysing data within the Swedish medical registers and confirmed that first generation daughters of women with PCOS have an increased risk of developing PCOS in adulthood. “These data, however, did not provide any insight into whether this association reflects a causal association or whether it is due to confounding genetic factors,” adds Stener-Victorin. “Furthermore, the daughters in current registers are still too young to access data from second and third generations.”

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References

Original article

  • Risal, S. et al. Prenatal androgen exposure and transgenerational susceptibility to polycystic ovary syndrome. Nat. Med. 25, 1894–1904 (2019)

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  1. Nature Reviews Endocrinology http://www.nature.com/nrendo/

    Alan Morris

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  1. Alan Morris
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Correspondence to Alan Morris.

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Morris, A. Transgenerational effects of polycystic ovary syndrome identified. Nat Rev Endocrinol 16, 67 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41574-019-0314-3

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