Polycystic ovaries and fertility

If a woman is seen to have polycystic ovaries on an ultrasound examination but does not have any symptoms, then she can be reassured that her fertility is not likely to be affected.In polycystic ovary syndrome, a woman's ovaries develop multiple cysts. Symptoms can include excessive hairiness, obesity, menstrual abnormalities, and infertility. All of this may be caused by abnormally high production of male hormones in the ovaries. Ultrasound scanning has become the standard for diagnosis of polycystic ovary syndrome. However, many women who have polycystic ovaries detected by ultrasound have no features of the syndrome.Researchers from University of Hull, UK, set out to see if asymptomatic women found to have polycystic ovaries by ultrasound took longer to conceive or were subfertile compared to women with normal appearing ovaries. More than one third of 210 women with polycystic ovary appearance on ultrasound were without symptoms.

Asymptomatic women with polycystic ovaries had a mean time to pregnancy similar to that of women with normal ovaries who were included in the study for comparison purposes, and they were no less fertile than women with normal ovaries. On the other hand, as expected, women with symptomatic polycystic ovary syndrome did take longer to become pregnant and were much more likely to be subfertile.Based on the available evidence, asymptomatic women who are found to have appearance of polycystic ovaries can be told that the incidental finding of polycystic ovaries is common. In the absence of relevant symptoms, women can be reassured that this finding does not have a significant impact on their fertility. However, researchers cautioned, that they should be advised to closely observe their weight, as excessive weight gain in these cases could be associated with a negative effect not only on their fertility but also on their general health.

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