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(Hypertension. 2007;49:1220.)
© 2007 American Heart Association, Inc.

Editorial Commentaries

Polycystic Ovary Syndrome

Androgens and Hypertension

Jane F. Reckelhoff

From the University of Mississippi Medical Center, Department of Physiology and Biophysics, and the Center for Excellence in Cardiovascular-Renal Research, Jackson, Miss.

Correspondence to Jane F. Reckelhoff, Department of Physiology and Biophysics, University of Mississippi Medical Center, 2500 N State St, Jackson, MS 39216-4505. E-mail jreckelhoff@physiology.umsmed.edu

An extract of the first 250 words of the full text is provided, because this article has no abstract.

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a condition of ovarian dysfunction that affects 6% to 10% of women of reproductive age. The hallmarks of PCOS are menstrual cycle irregularities, androgen excess, and polycystic ovaries, as defined by the Rotterdam Consensus on Diagnostic Criteria for PCOS. Most women also exhibit elevated luteinizing hormone/follicular-stimulating hormone ratios but normal levels of estradiol. In addition, many women with PCOS are obese, and Ehrmann et al¹ reported recently that 33.4% of US women with PCOS exhibit symptoms of the metabolic syndrome, such as increased hyperglycemia, insulin resistance, and dyslipidemia, although this percentage varies depending on the cohort studied. Frequently these young women exhibit hypertension as well.

Despite the list of characteristics that typically accompany PCOS, the exact mechanism(s) responsible for hypertension in women with PCOS is controversial. Many of the symptoms associated with PCOS have been shown to also be associated with increases in blood pressure, such as increases in body mass index and the presence of metabolic syndrome, with its accompanying insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes.

Whether androgens contribute to the hypertension in women with PCOS has not been shown previously. In the current issue of Hypertension, Chen et al² attempt to dissect the role that androgens may play in mediating the hypertension in young women with PCOS. Their studies were performed in a cohort of Taiwanese women, with an average age of 24 years. In multiple linear regression models, they found that the serum free androgen index or total testosterone levels were . . . [Full Text of this Article]

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Relationship Between Androgen Levels and Blood Pressure in Young Women With Polycystic Ovary Syndrome

Mei-Jou Chen, Wei-Shiung Yang, Jehn-Hsiahn Yang, Chi-Ling Chen, Hong-Nerng Ho, and Yu-Shih Yang
Hypertension 2007 49: 1442-1447. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

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