Hidden peril

PING TING AND her husband desperately wanted a child and had been trying for years. The absence of her period for two months and a steady weight gain prompted a late-night trip to the chemist. Waiting nervously for the second blue line to register on the pregnancy test kit, she glanced in the mirror and noticed hairs on her top lip and that her skin was peppered with spots. But her disquiet quickly turned into disappointment as she saw the blank window of her pregnancy kit.

Listening to a radio phone-in the next morning, Ping (not her real name) heard other people describing similar circumstances. Which is how she first heard about a condition called polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS).

According to Ernest Ng, associate professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the University of Hong Kong, the results of a recent study indicate that 5.6 per cent of fertile Chinese women have polycystic ovaries. Most women with polycystic ovaries don't have problems and may never be diagnosed. But for others, they can cause infertility.

'Polycystic ovaries are more common in patients who are found to be infertile,' says Ng. 'They were found in 12.2 per cent of more than 200 infertile women by ultrasound,' says Ng.

In Britain, polycystic ovaries are found in 20-30 per cent of women, of whom about half have PCOS. Yet many women know nothing about the condition.

Essentially, it occurs when the ovaries produce more androgens than normal. Androgens are male hormones, but are produced by both sexes and are involved in sexual function. Large amounts of androgens can interfere with egg development and release. In the case of PCOS, some of the eggs develop into cysts, which are fluid-filled sacs.