Understanding polycystic ovary and metabolic syndromes in Hispanic/Latino population

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) affects one in 10 women in the United States, and twice as many Hispanic/Latino women in the country. Hispanic/Latino women also experience an increased rate of obesity and metabolic syndrome (MetS), both associated with PCOS.

New research from the Department of Biobehavioral Healthexplored the associations between two health conditions among Hispanic/Latino women, specifically PCOS and MetS, as well as long-term health indicators, including increased inflammation, menopausal status, impaired fasting glucose associated with diabetes, and elevated triglycerides associated with heart disease and stroke.

Study results indicate that Hispanic/Latino females with PCOS had higher rates of MetS, impaired fasting glucose, and elevated triglycerides than their peers without PCOS. Future interventions for Hispanic/Latino women should target these outcomes to effectively manage PCOS, according to the researchers.

The researchers examined data from 7,316 females with self-reported PCOS and MetS in the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos, which is a multicenter, longitudinal, and observational study of Hispanic/Latino women in the United States.

“PCOS has not been well-characterized in this population — compared to other populations, such as non-Hispanic White Americans,” said Hridya Rao, lead author on the paper, graduate student in biobehavioral health, and affiliate of the Clinical and Translational Science Institute. “Its interaction with menopausal status and inflammation have been largely understudied due to the heterogeneity within the Hispanic population, which mark different adverse disease risk profiles. Due to the higher metabolic burden in Hispanic/Latino women and the insulin resistance component of PCOS, it is essential to learn how these mechanisms interact and contribute to the disease pathology.”

Understanding these health implications is particularly important given that the Hispanic/Latino population reached nearly 20% of the United States population in 2020, making it the second largest race or ethnic group in the country after non-Hispanic White Americans.

Additionally, many Hispanic/Latino adults in the U.S. face social and environmental barriers to accessing health care and wellness programs, including low rates of health insurance coverage. Prior research has established that these disparities contribute to increased rates of stress, obesity, diabetes, and mental illness in the Hispanic/Latino population compared to non-Hispanic/Latino individuals.

“We know that Hispanic/Latinos in the U.S. are younger on average than other race and ethnic groups. This means that as they age, we expect that their cardiometabolic health concerns will rise, said Lindsay Fernández-Rhodes, senior author on the paper, associate professor of biobehavioral health, and Rao’s graduate adviser. “This work is a prime example of how interdisciplinary approaches to study disparities in Hispanic/Latino health can benefit epidemiologic understanding and the future of public health, more broadly.”

Originally published in December 2024.