REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM ... OVARIAN CYSTS

Reproductive System ... Ovarian Cysts

Reproductive System ... Ovarian Cysts

Women with PCOS have abnormalities in the metabolism of androgens and estrogen and in the control of androgen production. High serum concentrations of androgenic hormones, such as testosterone, androstenedione, and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate, may be encountered in these patients. However, significant individual variation exists, and a particular patient might have normal androgen levels. Ovarian cysts also is associated with peripheral insulin resistance and hyperinsulinemia, and the degree of both abnormalities is amplified by the presence of obesity. (Frazier LM, Jones TL. 2000. 80-83)

Insulin resistance is not due to defects in insulin binding to the insulin receptors; rather, it involves postbinding signaling pathways. The elevated insulin levels may have gonadotropin-augmenting effects on ovarian function. Women responding to the 1998 Australian Contraception Study answered several questions about sexual and reproductive health issues. Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women and the leading cause of cancer death among women 35-54 years of age. Rising incidence, increased risk among migrants to higher risk regions, and poor prediction of individual risk has prompted a search for additional modifiable factors. Risk factors for breast cancer include reproductive characteristics associated with estrogen and other hormones, pharmaceutical hormones, and activities such as alcohol use and lack of exercise that affect hormone levels. As a result, investigation of hormonally active compounds in commercial products and pollution is a priority. Strongly influenced by feminists, the Cairo Program of Action promotes gender equity and reproductive health and demotes previous concerns with population growth.

This relationship is often seen even after controlling for breast cancer risk factors such as parity and age at childbearing, which are themselves associated with SES. The possibility that some part of this relationship is due to chemical exposures, for example, from use of consumer products ...