PCOS highly prevalent in girls with type 2 diabetes: JAMA

Canada: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) was found in about 1 in every 5 girls with type 2 diabetes (T2D), says an article published in the Journal of American Medical Association.

Globally, the prevalence of pediatric T2D is rising. Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) is a risk for girls with T2D, but the prevalence of PCOS among T2D girls is unknown. Milena Cioana and her colleagues conducted this study with the goal of determining the incidence of PCOS in females with T2D and assessing the relationship between obesity and race with this prevalence.

MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, and Web of Science: Conference Proceedings were used in this systematic review and meta-analysis. From inception through April 4, 2021, the Citation Index–Science and the grey literature were searched. Two reviewers independently looked for papers using an observational research design that included at least 10 participants and documented the prevalence of PCOS in T2D girls. The degree of evidence was assessed using the Oxford Center for Evidence-Based Medicine criteria, and the risk of bias was assessed using a validated technique. It was decided to do a random-effects meta-analysis. The Meta-analysis of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (MOOSE) reporting guideline was followed in this study. The prevalence of PCOS in T2D girls was the primary finding of this comprehensive study. Examining the links between obesity and race and PCOS prevalence were secondary outcomes.

The key findings of this study are as follow:

1. Six studies comprising 470 girls with T2D (mean age at diagnosis, 12.9-16.1 years) satisfied the inclusion criteria out of 722 reviewed papers.

2. PCOS was shown to be prevalent (weighted proportion) in 19.58% of women.

3. Heterogeneity was moderate to high, however, after eliminating studies that did not report PCOS diagnostic criteria, it was greatly reduced, resulting in a computed prevalence (weighted percentage) of 24.04%.

4. Due to a lack of data, associations between obesity and race could not be determined.

In conclusion, according to this study, about one in every five T2D girls has PCOS. PCOS must be identified in this population in order to enable early screening and therapy of the condition and its related health issues. Future research is required to determine the impact of obesity and race on PCOS prevalence in this population, as well as to develop tailored evaluation and treatment options.

Reference:

Cioana M, Deng J, Nadarajah A, et al. Prevalence of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome in Patients With Pediatric Type 2 Diabetes: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. JAMA Netw Open. 2022;5(2):e2147454. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.47454