Polycystic ovary syndrome: a transgenerational evolutionary adaptation.

Polycystic ovary syndrome has a common association with anovulatory infertility, while the physical symptoms are often associated with the increased androgens that are part of the endocrine profile. There is a well-recognised association with lipid and glucose metabolism anomalies and, when undergoing ovulation induction, ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome. This common condition is familial, but a contributory gene has yet to be found. The question of why a gene that predisposes to anovulation, diabetes and heart disease might have perpetuated so frequently is addressed. Three hypotheses for evolutionary advantage are discussed. The food deprivation hypothesis considers the role of the observed increase in ovulation when women with the condition lose weight in relation to seasonality. The refeeding hypothesis considers the androgenic and slightly enhanced anabolic metabolism in relation to periods of privation and the advantage of preferential early ovulation when refeeding after a period of privation. The transgenerational privation hypothesis considers the effect of persistent, severe, yet subfatal privation on individuals both in utero and throughout life. While an androgenic, anabolic state would improve efficiency in the use of food for protein synthesis and fat storage, benefiting the fetus both in relation to its in utero development and neonatal survival, survival and reproductive capacity as an adult benefits by a genotype expressing itself in women of successive generations.