How common is PCOD? About 1 in 5 women of reproductive age

If you have just been told you have PCOD, the first feeling is often that something rare has happened to you. It has not. About 1 in 5 women of reproductive age live with PCOD or PCOS. In a classroom, a college hostel or an office floor, that is several people.

What "1 in 5" means

Reproductive age here means the years in which a woman has periods and can, in principle, conceive. So the number is about women from the teen years to around the time periods stop. Out of every five such women, about one has PCOD or PCOS.

That is why the condition feels both common and invisible. You can be sitting next to someone who has it and never hear her say so.

Why the number is a rough guide

A single figure cannot be exact. The name matters, for one. PCOM, PCOD and PCOS are steps on one spectrum, from milder to more complex, and PCOS is now also called PMOS. Where a study draws the line decides who is counted.

The group studied matters too, and so do the criteria used. Doctors diagnose using the Rotterdam criteria, which means any two of three signs: irregular or no ovulation, high androgens, and polycystic ovaries on a scan. Counting by two signs gives a different answer than counting by scan alone.

So treat "1 in 5" as a way to see that you are in good company. It is not a score for any one person.

Who gets it

There is no typical PCOD woman. Several things add up: family history, insulin resistance, extra androgens, low-grade inflammation in the body, and lifestyle factors such as low activity, poor sleep and stress. Some of those you are born with, and some you can change. None of them is a fault.

Some points are worth knowing.

• Lean women can have PCOD and insulin resistance too.
• You can have PCOD with regular periods, so tests tell the story.
• A mother, sister or aunt with PCOD or diabetes makes it more likely, but it does not mean you will definitely have it.
• Teenagers can have it, though irregular periods are common in the first two to three years after the first period, so a doctor checks whether it is the body settling in or something that needs care.

Why many women do not know

You may have only a few signs. Every woman is different, and each sign has an ordinary-looking explanation. A late period is put down to exams or travel. Acne is blamed on age. Thinning at the parting is blamed on shampoo. Dark patches on the neck are blamed on dirt or sun.

When each sign is explained away separately, the pattern is never seen. Written down together, the same signs tell a clearer story. That is why we ask women to keep a simple tracker with the first day of every period, the number of days, the flow and any notes.

What to do with the number

First, it can lower the weight of the diagnosis. You are not alone, and you did not cause it. Genes, hormones and insulin all play a part.

Second, it is manageable. Most symptoms improve with the right care. Food, movement and sleep form the base, and medicines are added for particular goals, only on a doctor's advice.

Third, the sooner you get checked, the easier it is to protect your health. Possible long-term risks include type 2 diabetes, heart disease, sleep apnoea and thickening of the womb lining. Early care lowers these risks.

When a check-up makes sense

See a doctor if you notice two or more of these, or if one is bothering you:

• periods that are irregular, missed or heavy
• acne and oily skin
• extra dark hair on the chin, upper lip or belly
• thinning hair at the parting
• dark, velvety patches on the neck or underarms
• weight gain around the belly
• low mood, anxiety, tiredness or poor sleep
• difficulty getting pregnant

If you are a parent reading for a daughter, the same list applies, and a doctor can sort out what is a normal settling-in phase and what is not.

This article is education, not a diagnosis. A doctor decides whether you have PCOD, PCOS or PMOS.