Women with PCOS are at greater risk for infertility and gestational diabetes.
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Common symptoms include infertility, menstrual irregularities, obesity, excessive facial and body hair, and thinning scalp hair.
Up to 10% of women with PCOS will develop type 2 diabetes by age 40, and more than half of women with PCOS will develop either type 2 diabetes or prediabetes by that age.
If you have PCOS, exercise and a healthy diet are part of the treatment. Losing weight can sometimes restore your menstrual cycle and increase fertility.
Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a group of health problems linked to a woman's out-of-balance hormones. Common symptoms of PCOS include irregular periods, infertility, repeat miscarriages, male-pattern hair loss, male-type facial and body hair, acne, and obesity. PCOS raises your risks for serious health problems, including high blood pressure (hypertension), heart disease, diabetes, and uterine (endometrial) cancer.
Reproductive problems
Hormone imbalances linked to PCOS cause several types of pregnancy problems and related problems, including:
You may have more regular menstrual cycles as you near menopause. The reason for this is not known. But your history of PCOS may still increase your long-term risk of high blood pressure (hypertension), heart disease, diabetes, or endometrial cancer.
Reproductive problems
Hormone imbalances linked to PCOS cause several types of pregnancy problems and related problems, including:
- Infertility. This happens when the ovaries are not releasing an egg every month.
- Repeat miscarriages. The cause for this is not known. These miscarriages may be linked to high insulin levels, delayed ovulation, or other problems such as the quality of the egg or how the egg attaches to the uterus.
- Gestational diabetes during pregnancy. This risk is greater in women with PCOS than in women who ovulate regularly.
- Precancer of the uterine lining (endometrial hyperplasia). This can happen when you don't have regular menstrual cycles, which normally build up and "clear off" of the uterine lining every month. You can take birth control pills or other hormone medicines to reduce the risk of endometrial hyperplasia.
- Uterine (endometrial) cancer. Risk during the reproductive years is 3 times greater in women with PCOS than in women who ovulate monthly.
You may have more regular menstrual cycles as you near menopause. The reason for this is not known. But your history of PCOS may still increase your long-term risk of high blood pressure (hypertension), heart disease, diabetes, or endometrial cancer.
Last Updated: January 23, 2008 
