Acne and irregular menstruation? This endocrine disease is to blame

Among the women who love beauty, some are curious about why they are "getting fat even if they drink water"? Why do they have so many pimples on their faces and too much body hair? Why do they only have their periods once every two or three months or twice a month, and their periods are irregular and frustrating? Liu Mingxing, director of the gynecology clinic at the Third Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, pointed out that there is a disease called "polycystic ovary syndrome". Due to changes in hormones in the body, women's bodies will show symptoms of hyperandrogenism, such as excessive hair and acne, and bring health problems such as menstrual disorders, abnormal ovulation, and infertility.

One in ten women of childbearing age is infected

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a disease that affects the female reproductive system, endocrine system, etc. It accounts for 10% of normal women of childbearing age and can be said to be the most common endocrine disease in women. The clinical manifestations of PCOS are diverse, often starting in adolescence, and are common in women of childbearing age. The main clinical manifestations include: menstrual disorders, infertility, hirsutism, acne, obesity, and acanthosis nigricans (thickening of the skin and gray-brown pigmentation in the skin folds of the neck, back, groin, etc.).

Liu Mingxing introduced that the pathogenesis of PCOS has not yet been fully clarified, so it cannot be cured and can only be managed for life. The disease will affect women's body and mind to varying degrees at different stages of their lives. "Adolescent PCOS patients may have hirsutism, acne and other conditions that affect their appearance; patients of childbearing age may cause infertility and miscarriage; and after pregnancy, patients have a higher risk of pregnancy complications such as gestational diabetes, preeclampsia, and premature birth than ordinary women; in the long run, it may also bring risks of cardiovascular diseases, so long-term health management is very important." Liu Mingxing said.

Will taking birth control pills make you fat? Rumor

Dr. Xu Pei from the hospital's gynecology department said that lifestyle adjustments such as weight control, balanced diet, regular exercise and behavioral intervention are the most basic first-line treatment methods.

For patients with polycystic ovary syndrome, most of them need oral contraceptives for drug treatment. Many women are worried that oral contraceptives will have side effects on the body, such as whether they will cause weight gain? Dr. Xu Pei said that the oral contraceptives taken are mainly estrogen and progesterone, not the glucocorticoids we usually talk about. Glucocorticoids can easily cause weight gain, while estrogen and progesterone are hormones normally secreted in women's bodies and play an important role in maintaining women's physiological functions. Therefore, oral contraceptives will not cause obesity. In addition, oral contraceptives can reduce the occurrence of ovarian cancer, endometrial cancer, breast cancer, etc.