"Can Your Androgen Excess Give You An Edge?" - Anna Medaris Miller
PCOS, which affects about 15 percent of women of reproductive age, doesn’t always involve excess androgens, and when it does, the increase is typically slight. But even that slight uptick can have devastating consequences. Not only do PCOS and other androgen excess disorders often lead to confidence-shattering side effects like male-pattern hair growth, hair loss, acne and weight gain, but studies have also linked PCOS specifically to serious long-term health problems that are often related to the condition’s effect on insulin resistance and link to obesity. "These conditions were just considered cosmetic problems 30 years ago,” said Andrea Dunaif, MD, chief of the division of endocrinology, diabetes and bone disease for the Mount Sinai Health System. “We now understand that forms of PCOS are associated with an increased risk of diabetes at a very young age and other metabolic problems.”
– Andrea Dunaif, MD, Chief, Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Bone Disease, Mount Sinai Health System