PCOS, polycystic ovary syndrome, according to the World Health Organisation is a “significant public health problem” so why is PCOS still not being taken seriously in 2024?
This blog will aim to answer that question, as well as explore the impact this is having on women, how the healthcare system is failing women, potential PCOS treatment and how PCOS is taken seriously around the world.
Let’s take a closer look into why PCOS needs to be taken seriously in 2024 as a public health priority.
Blog Contents
What is PCOS?
Why PCOS Needs to Be Taken Seriously As a Public Health Priority
Why Healthcare Is Failing Women, Particularly PCOS Treatment
AI For Life - Geneve Summit
How PCOS Is Being Taken Seriously Around The World
Will PCOS Be Taken Seriously in 2025?
What Is PCOS, Polycystic Ovary Syndrome?
PCOS is a hormonal condition that affects women of reproductive age.
Some of the symptoms include irregular periods and lack of ovulation which can lead to infertility, weight gain, acne, oily skin and excess facial hair.
Women diagnosed with PCOS often suffer from other health conditions such as type 2 diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol, heart disease and endometrial cancer.
The cause of PCOS is unknown, which could be blamed on a lack of research and funding, therefore, it is often attributed to family history and women with type 2 diabetes.
Why PCOS Needs to Be Taken Seriously as a Public Health Priority in 2024
PCOS affects 8-13% of women of reproductive age, yet a staggering 70% go undiagnosed. That statistic alone is reason enough for why PCOS needs to be taken seriously in 2024 and beyond.
But let’s explore further data that suggests why PCOS is a public health priority that needs to be addressed immediately.
It has been estimated that approximately 5 million females in the USA have been diagnosed with PCOS, this figure was based on a National Institutes of Health report in 2012, making this disease one of the most common among women.
However, despite PCOS being one of the most common diseases to affect women of reproductive age, it is often undiagnosed, misdiagnosed or can take years and multiple doctors to diagnose correctly.
Research shows that women often suffer from adverse mental health conditions, some studies even suggest that women suffering from PCOS are up to 7 times more likely to attempt suicide.
As previously mentioned, there are a raft of other conditions that can affect women with PCOS.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 50% of women with PCOS will become diabetic or prediabetic before age 40.
Women with PCOS constitute the largest group of women at risk of developing cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes.
They are also three times more likely to contract endometrial cancer, twice as likely to develop ovarian cancer and at two to four times higher risk of developing breast cancer.
PCOS is having a huge impact on women globally which is why it needs to be taken seriously in 2024 as a major public health concern.
Why healthcare is failing women, particularly PCOS treatment
Since the cause of PCOS remains relatively unknown, there is no cure.
The treatment for PCOS focuses predominantly on controlling symptoms and improving the overall health and lifestyle of patients.
Millions of women around the world have been dismissed by doctors when presenting with varying and often different symptoms from one person to the next.
In a recent NBC News article, a woman from Illinois told the reporter that she was taking almost 30 different types of medication to alleviate her symptoms, but not one of those drugs was specifically for PCOS.
Another woman, aged 35, while explaining her symptoms to her doctor was told that she was fine, and “to go home, work out, and eat clean”.
Sadly, too many women around the world are not being taken seriously.
AI For Life - Geneva Summit
During a recent summit in Geneva, dedicated to female founders who are advocating for the advancement of women’s health, Claire spoke with Sasha Ottey the executive director and founder of the PCOS challenge about her own experiences after being diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome.
Listen to the entire special series on advancing women’s health here.
Sasha explained feeling dismissed after being diagnosed with PCOS when she was told not to worry about having irregular periods, and to come back when she wanted to get pregnant.
She was prescribed birth control pills, given a leaflet, and transferred to an endocrinologist who promptly told her to return in 6 months after losing weight.
Unfortunately, this is how many women feel after being diagnosed with PCOS.
Historically women’s healthcare has been seen as a niche subject and has been chronically underfunded, resulting in a lack of robust data to support diagnoses and treatments for female-related conditions.
Thankfully, this is starting to change.
However, this change has been predominantly moved forward by women-led and patient-led research. Women have started to demand change for themselves.
The good news is that women now account for approximately half of all participants in clinical trials, and scientists must account for sex as a possible factor in their research during animal and human trials.
If you’d like to know more about clinical trials and the impact on women then please read this blog post on The Benefits of AI to Humanise Clinical Trials.
There is also a podcast episode on the Narratives of Purpose podcast: On Humanising Clinical Trials with AI.
How PCOS Is Being Taken Seriously Around The World
Sasha Ottey, executive director and founder of PCOS Challenge, as well as having been diagnosed with PCOS herself, is one of the leading figures highlighting and raising awareness of polycystic ovary syndrome.
Thanks to Sasha and her not-for-profit organisation, September 1st has been designated as World PCOS Day, and the entire month of September is now PCOS Awareness Month.
Sasha isn’t just spreading the word globally about PCOS, her organisation is now conducting patient-led research and working with other researchers to find innovative new ways of treating PCOS.
The importance of working with and listening to patients cannot be underestimated. Patient-led research must form part of the research strategy for developing new treatments and cures.
Another important factor in driving change is creating more funding opportunities worldwide. This can only be achieved by raising awareness and advocating for legislation changes.
PCOS and its continued underfunding, misdiagnosis and inadequate treatments is not unique to the US where PCOS Challenge is based, but a global issue.
Sasha says they have patients from more than 45 countries in their membership programme, demonstrating the urgent need for more conversations about this topic and exactly why PCOS needs to be taken seriously in 2024 and beyond.
However, Sasha believes the future of managing and diagnosing PCOS is bright.
Women are no longer silent on important matters affecting their physical and mental well-being.
If you’d like to hear more from Sasha please head over to the Narratives of Purpose podcast episode - On Making PCOS a Public Health Priority - Women's Health Series with Sasha Ottey.
Will PCOS Be Taken Seriously in 2025?
The future certainly does look much brighter for women’s health, especially for diseases such as polycystic ovary syndrome.
The advancement of women’s health has been made possible by female change-makers no longer remaining silent on important topics such as PCOS and highlighting the gender gap that exists in healthcare.
Women like Sasha Ottey, creating an organisation after feeling dismissed by their healthcare professionals, are leaving their mark on the industry.
Highlighting the many complexities and other life-threatening conditions that can develop as a result of PCOS is paving the way for more preventative research and treatment methods.
PCOS Challenge’s vision may finally become a reality whereby PCOS is truly taken seriously in 2024 and designated a public health priority.
