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Porträttfoto

Jonas Helgertz

Vice Dean Research, Associate Professor

Porträttfoto

Early Life Factors and Polycystic Ovary Syndrome in a Swedish Birth Cohort

Author

  • Beata Vivien Boldis
  • Ilona Grünberger
  • Agneta Cederström
  • Jonas Björk
  • Anton Nilsson
  • Jonas Helgertz

Summary, in English

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a medical condition with important consequences for women’s well-being and reproductive outcomes. Although the etiology of PCOS is not fully understood, there is increasing evidence of both genetic and environmental determinants, including development in early life. We studied a population of 977,637 singleton women born in in Sweden between 1973 and 1995, followed sometime between the age 15 and 40. The incidence of PCOS was measured using hospital register data during 2001–2012, complemented with information about the women’s, parents’ and sisters’ health and social characteristics from population and health care registers. Cox regression was used to study how PCOS is associated with intergenerational factors, and a range of early life characteristics. 11,594 women in the study sample were diagnosed with PCOS during the follow-up period. The hazard rate for PCOS was increased 3-fold (HR 2.98, 95% CI 2.43–3.64) if the index woman’s mother had been diagnosed with PCOS, and with 1.5-fold (HR 1.51, 95% CI 1.39–1.63) if their mother had diabetes mellitus. We found associations of PCOS with lower (<7) one-minute Apgar score (HR 1.19, 95% CI 1.09–1.29) and with post-term birth (HR 1.19, 95% CI 1.13–1.26). Furthermore, heavy (10+ cigarettes/day) maternal smoking (HR 1.30, 95% CI 1.18–1.44) and maternal obesity (HR 1.90, 95% CI 1.62–2.36) were strongly associated with PCOS. This study finds support for the heritability and fetal origins of PCOS. Risk of PCOS could be reduced by further emphasizing the importance of maternal and early life health.

Department/s

  • Division of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Lund University
  • EPI@LUND
  • eSSENCE: The e-Science Collaboration
  • Surgery and public health
  • EpiHealth: Epidemiology for Health
  • Centre for Economic Demography
  • Department of Economic History
  • Economic demography

Publishing year

2023-11

Language

English

Publication/Series

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

Volume

20

Issue

22

Document type

Journal article

Publisher

MDPI AG

Topic

  • Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Medicine

Keywords

  • developmental origins of health
  • maternal diabetes
  • maternal smoking
  • polycystic ovary syndrome

Status

Published

Project

  • AIR Lund - Artificially Intelligent use of Registers

Research group

  • EPI@LUND
  • Surgery and public health

ISBN/ISSN/Other

  • ISSN: 1661-7827