The risk of cardiovascular complications at the time of delivery hospitalization is higher in pregnant women with PCOS, suggests a study published in the Journal of American Heart Association.¹

To study the cardiovascular complications in pregnant women diagnosed with PCOS during delivery hospitalizations, researchers identified a total of 71,436,308 weighted hospitalizations for deliveries. Of these, 195,675 (0.3%) were diagnosed with PCOS. Data was obtained from the National Inpatient Sample from 2002 to 2019.

Analysis of data showed an increase in PCOS during the study duration. Women with PCOS tended to be older in age at 31 years (median) compared to women who did not have PCOS at 28 years (median). They were also more likely to be diabetic, obese and have dyslipidemia.

The chances of pre-eclampsia and eclampsia were higher in women with PCOS with adjusted odds ratios of 1.56 and 1.58 respectively. This association persisted even after adjusting for variables such as age, race and ethnicity, underlying diseases, income and insurance. Likewise, the aOR for cardiovascular complications was also increased in the presence of PCOS; it was 1.79 for peripartum cardiomyopathy and 1.76 for heart failure. Women with PCOS had a longer length of hospital stay (3 days) compared to women who did not have PCOS (2 days). They also had to bear a higher cost of hospitalization ($4901 versus $3616).

The prevalence of pregnancy complications, including peripartum acute cardiovascular complications is higher in women with PCOS at the time of delivery hospitalization suggesting PCOS as an independent predictor of cardiac complications. Hence, it is important that cardiometabolic risk factors are identified in women with PCOS - before, during and after pregnancy, and optimally managed for better pregnancy outcomes.

Reference

1. Zahid S, et al. Trends, predictors, and outcomes of cardiovascular complications associated with polycystic ovary syndrome during delivery hospitalizations: a national inpatient sample analysis (2002-2019). J Am Heart Assoc. 2022 Jun 16;e025839. doi: 10.1161/JAHA.121.025839.