Xiaozhen's polycystic ovary disease may be a hidden danger of gynecological cancer

According to print media reports, well-known artist Xiaozhen (Hu Yingzhen) suffered from "polycystic ovary syndrome" and her weight soared within six months, gaining nearly 20 kilograms. What exactly is polycystic ovary syndrome? Will I definitely gain weight if I suffer from PCOS? Gynecologists say that in addition to the complications of obesity, hirsutism, and acanthosis nigricans, the main problem for patients is late menstruation. If not treated and controlled early, it may even cause infertility problems and increase the risk of endometrial cancer.

Comparing the photos Xiaozhen uploaded on Weibo last year with the footage from a recent show, one can clearly see the difference in their body shapes. (Pictures taken from Xiaozhen's Weibo and youtube)

Guo Anni, an obstetrician and gynecologist at Zhongshan Hospital, said that polycystic ovary syndrome is a hereditary chronic anovulatory disease. Once it occurs, it cannot be completely cured. The symptoms can only be improved and alleviated through medication and changes in lifestyle habits. When this type of patient is exposed to ultrasound, the ovaries will appear connected like a pearl chain, and the number of ovarian follicles will increase. The size of the ovaries will also become larger than that of ordinary people, so it is called polycystic ovary syndrome.

Will you gain weight if you suffer from polycystic ovary syndrome? Doctor: Only 40%

As for whether people with polycystic ovary syndrome will definitely make them fat? Dr. Annie Kuo stressed that not every PCOS patient will gain weight. In fact, only about less than 40% of patients will develop symptoms of obesity due to factors such as increased androgen, abnormal body metabolic function, endocrine disorders, and insulin resistance.

If patients with polycystic ovary syndrome want to improve their obesity problem, they should start by dealing with insulin resistance and improving endocrine disorders and metabolic dysfunction. What is more special is that patients who suffer from obesity due to polycystic ovary syndrome have a very different body shape from the pear-shaped body shape common among ordinary women. Most of them have apple-shaped obesity with obesity in the upper body and abdomen.

When patients with PCOS are exposed to ultrasound, their ovaries will appear connected like a pearl chain, and the number of ovarian follicles will increase.

Polycystic ovary disease complications and the influence of multiple androgens

Polycystic ovary syndrome patients have abnormal proliferation of ovarian follicles, which causes endocrine abnormalities and ovarian failure to ovulate, resulting in irregular and late menstruation. This not only reduces the patient's pregnancy rate, but even if they become pregnant, the miscarriage rate is much higher than that of ordinary women.

In addition, when androgen is over-secreted, patients are prone to symptoms of hirsutism, with hair growing below the navel, on the hands, legs, chest, and other areas where there was no hair before. Not only that, it may also cause a large number of acne and pimples on the skin. It may even induce the occurrence of "acanthosis nigricans", which causes symptoms such as darkening and pigmentation in the skin folds such as the armpits and crotch.

In addition, under the influence of androgen, patients may also experience problems such as high triglycerides, increased blood lipids and blood sugar. In fact, PCOS patients are more likely to suffer from diabetes and cardiovascular diseases than the general population.

Treatment methods vary according to age and needs. Regular follow-up visits are recommended to maintain health.

In terms of treatment, Dr. Annie Kuo pointed out that since PCOS is a hereditary disease, although the onset time is uncertain, it is caused by genetic factors and therefore cannot be cured. The best that can be done is to improve and alleviate the symptoms through medication, changes in lifestyle habits, etc.

Patients with PCOS who want to have children need to improve the problem of ovarian anovulation through more effective ovulation injections, so that the ovaries can ovulate and facilitate conception.

However, what is more special is that for this type of patients, the treatment will be quite different depending on their age and needs. If they are young women who want to have children, they need to use more effective ovulation injections to improve the problem of ovarian anovulation and make the ovaries ovulate to facilitate conception.

If you do not want to get pregnant and have children, but simply want to solve and improve skin and hair problems such as abnormal hair growth, hirsutism, acne, blackheads, etc., you should choose to take menstrual regulating drugs to increase the female hormones in the body and improve the complications caused by excessive androgen.

Dr. Annie Kuo said that for women who have not reached menopause, their uterus is always in a state of pregnancy preparation, regardless of whether they ovulate or not, and their endometrium will continue to proliferate. Therefore, women with polycystic ovary syndrome who have their periods only once every six months should visit the obstetrics and gynecology department at least once every 2 to 3 months, so that a professional physician can arrange for menstruation induction so that the proliferating endometrium can be shed with the menstruation. Otherwise, as the endometrium continues to proliferate, the risk of endometrial cancer may increase.

【Doctor's Tips】:

In addition, Dr. Annie Guo reminds that patients with PCOS, in addition to receiving regular diagnosis and treatment from professional obstetricians and gynecologists, must also maintain good and healthy living habits, maintain regular exercise habits, and control their own weight and physical condition, which are all ways to improve and alleviate the symptoms of PCOS. Most importantly, if PCOS patients are accompanied by obesity and it is not controlled, the disease may become worse.