Obese, relatively young women with polycystic ovary syndrome are at increased risk for early subclinical coronary atherosclerosis, a study shows. Obese, relatively young women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) are at increased risk for early subclinical coronary atherosclerosis, independent of the presence of traditional cardiovascular risk factors and novel inflammatory risk markers, a study shows.

"These findings underscore the need to screen and aggressively counsel and treat these women to prevent symptomatic cardiovascular disease," Dr. Rupal Shroff and colleagues from the University of Iowa, Iowa City, conclude in the December issue of the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism.

The researchers conducted a prospective study involving 24 women, between 21 and 50 years of age, with PCOS and a BMI of 30 or higher, and 24 weight- and age-matched controls without PCOS. The team detected coronary artery calcium, a marker of early-onset atherosclerosis in eight of 24 PCOS subjects (33 per cent) and two of 24 controls (eight per cent).

This translated to an adjusted odds ratio of 5.5 (p < 0.03), the investigators note.

Moreover, they found that the majority of women with detectable coronary artery calcium did not have traditional cardiovascular risk factors "and the presence of PCOS status per se appeared to contribute to this increased risk of coronary artery calcium."

"Longitudinal studies to document the progression of coronary artery calcium in this population are urgently needed," Dr. Shroff and colleagues say.