Fax +41 61 306 12 34 E-Mail karger@karger.ch www.karger.com Original Article Gynecol Obstet Invest 2010;69:274–280 DOI: 10.1159/000277640 Prevalence of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome and Related Disorders in Mexican Women Carlos Moran a, b Gilberto Tena a Segundo Moran b Paola Ruiz a Rosario Reyna c Ximena Duque b a Direction of Health Research and Training, Medical Unit of High Specialty in Gynecology and Obstetrics No. 4 ‘Luis Castelazo Ayala’, and b Health Research Council, Mexican Institute of Social Security (IMSS), Mexico City, Mexico; c Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Ala., USA had hirsutism and 7 of them had acne. Eight of the 10 PCOS patients had morphologic characteristics of PCO. Conclu- sion: The prevalence of PCOS in Mexican women is approxi- mately 6.0%, similar to other populations, but lower than 12.8% reported in Mexican-American women. Copyright © 2010 S. Karger AG, Basel Introduction Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) has been found to affect 4–8% of women in their reproductive age [1–4] and it is found in 50–80% of patients with hyperandrogenism [5–7]. However, in Mexican-American women living in Los Angeles (relatives of patients with coronary artery disease) a prevalence of 12.8% has been reported [8]. This cited study used a questionnaire for self-reported irregu- lar menses and clinical signs of hyperandrogenism, and did not exclude related disorders. The criteria for diagnosis of the PCOS meeting spon- sored by the National Institutes of Health (NIH 1990) were hyperandrogenism and/or hyperandrogenemia, oli- go-ovulation and the exclusion of other disorders [9] . The revised PCOS diagnostic criteria of the workshop co- sponsored by the European Society of Human Reproduc- Key Words Polycystic ovary syndrome  Hyperandrogenism  Menstrual cycle  Ultrasonography Abstract Background/Aims: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) has been found to affect 4–8% of women of reproductive age; however, in Mexican-Americans a prevalence of 12.8% has been reported. This study determines the prevalence of PCOS in a sample of Mexican women. Methods: This pro- spective cross-sectional study included 150 female Mexican volunteers aged 20–45 years. Menstrual cycles were record- ed and hirsutism was graded. Pelvic ultrasound was per- formed and androgen levels were measured. PCOS was di- agnosed by hyperandrogenism and/or hyperandrogene- mia, and oligo-ovulation (NIH 1990 criteria), and also by 2 of 3 findings: oligo-ovulation, clinical and/or biochemical hy- perandrogenism and polycystic ovaries (PCO) (Rotterdam 2003 criteria), excluding other disorders. Results: Nine of the 150 women were diagnosed with PCOS, a prevalence of 6.0% (95% CI: 1.9–10.1%), according to NIH criteria. The ultrasound morphology added one patient to give ten PCOS patients, a prevalence of 6.6% (95% CI: 2.3–10.9%) according to Rotter- dam criteria. All PCOS patients presented oligo-ovulation, 9 Received: December 23, 2008 Accepted after revision: October 27, 2009 Published online: January 25, 2010 Carlos Moran, MD 2220 Bassett Ave. 272–139 El Paso, TX 79901-2020 (USA) Tel. +52 155 1384 0538, Fax +52 155 5550 4929 E-Mail cemoranv @ hotmail.com © 2010 S. Karger AG, Basel 0378–7346/10/0694–0274$26.00/0 Accessible online at: www.karger.com/goi