Explained: How women's PCOS condition can affect their sons

Sons of women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) are more likely to develop obesity than their peers, a new study has found. Published in the journal Cell Reports Medicine, the study was carried out by a team of researchers from Sweden’s Karolinska Institutet. The recent study sheds light on the risk of PCOS-related health issues passing through the male side of a family across generations. But what is PCOS? How was the study conducted and what are its findings? Let’s take a closer look. What is it? It is a condition that affects women’s hormone levels during their reproductive age, according to a Healthline report. PCOS affects ovaries and the reproductive organs that produce hormones – estrogen and progesterone – regulating the menstrual cycle.

Women suffering from PCOS produce more than the normal quantity of male hormones.

This condition can lead to several ovarian cysts, irregular periods, hair growth on the face and body, baldness and weight gain. Women with PCOS are also at higher risk of diabetes and heart disease, the report added. PCOS is common in women. It affects 1 in 5 or 20 per cent of women globally, as per a 2020 literature review. Twice likely to develop obesity  Researchers used data registries and experimental mouse models to find out how PCOS-related health risks can be passed onto sons. The study analysed data from a Swedish nationwide register-based cohort. As many as 467,275 male infants were born in Sweden between July 2006 and December 2015. Out of these, 9,828 boys were born to a mother with PCOS, while 147 eventually turned obese. [caption id=“attachment_12565652” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Sons of women with PCOS can develop obesity, says a new study. Pixabay (Representational Image)[/caption] As per The Washington Post report, around 2 in 100 Swedish boys who had mothers suffering from PCOS became obese during childhood, whereas only 1 in 100 boys were diagnosed with obesity whose mothers did not have PCOS. This risk further increased for boys who were born to women with PCOS and a body mass index (BMI) greater than 25. Moreover, the sons of women who had PCOS and did not take metformin during pregnancy were the most at risk of being diagnosed with obesity, the report added. “We discovered that sons of women with PCOS have a twofold risk of obesity and of having high levels of “bad” cholesterol, which increases the risk of developing insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes later in life”, Elisabet Stener-Victorin, professor at the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Karolinska Institutet who led the study, said in a statement. According to The Washington Post, the researchers then followed up with a case–control study from Chile. Through the RNA sequencing study, they found higher cholesterol in the sons of Chilean women with PCOS than in controls. Notably, this was the same research team that in a 2019 study found that the daughters of women with PCOS were five times more susceptible to being diagnosed with the syndrome. ALSO READ: What is ‘period anxiety’ that is making women athletes ditch their white shorts? Health issues in male offspring In another study, researchers fed a fatty, sugary diet to a group of mice, who were then exposed to high levels of dihydrotestosterone – a male hormone that mimics that of pregnant women with PCOS. The male offspring of the mice were then fed a standard diet throughout their adulthood. “We could see that these male mice had more fat tissue, larger fat cells, and a disordered basal metabolism, despite eating a healthy diet,” Stener-Victorin said in the statement. These male mice were then mated with healthy females to examine whether physiological characteristics could be passed on to their offspring. [caption id=“attachment_12565672” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] As per the study, “obesity and high levels of male hormones in the woman during pregnancy can cause long-term health problems in the male offspring”. Pixabay (Representational Image)[/caption] “Through these experiments, we can show that obesity and high levels of male hormones in the woman during pregnancy can cause long-term health problems in the male offspring. Their fat tissue function, metabolism and reproductive function deteriorate, which in turn affects future generations,” Dr Qiaolin Deng, study co-author and associate professor at the Karolinska Institute, said in the statement. Explaining the significance, the study’s lead author, Stener-Victorin, said that they “highlight the risk of passing health problems down through the male side of a family, highlight the risk of passing this kind of health problem, and they may help us in the future to find ways to identify, treat and prevent reproductive and metabolic diseases at an early stage”. With inputs from agencies Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News , India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.