Do you ever wonder WHY you have PCOS? I guess ultimately it doesn't matter but it certainly is a curious question.
Neither my mother or sister have ANY symptoms, so I was decided to do some research on PCOS and Heredity...and I think I found an answer.
"Researchers believe that the genetics of PCOS can also be passed on to males, and they may experience some of the common symptoms. Male relatives of women with PCOS tend to be insulin resistant.
Since it is autosomal dominant, male relatives will also carry the gene. These men are also often insulin resistant and at increased risk for diabetes. Some evidence indicates that the marker for the PCOS gene is men is early balding.
Autosomal means that people of both sexes are equally likely to be affected with the condition, and dominant means that only one affected gene is needed for the disease to develop. Therefore, the chance of passing the affected gene and hence, passing the condition to a son or daughter is one in two (50%)"
Also interesting...
"One study suggests that the longer the duration of pregnancy -- that is, the longer a pregnancy extends past 40 weeks -- the greater the chance that PCOS will develop in the child later in life
Another theory implies that internalized negative childhood messages about themselves contribute to women developing PCOS."
Great articles! The theory about extreme stress is interesting, since I was under that kind of pressure as a child. Maybe it's one of those factors that exacerbates PCOS. Plus, I turned to sugar to elevate my seratonin levels when I was stressed, so that didn't help things. It's something to think about the next time I start to get really upset, and to work on stress management. Thanks for posting!!!!
Absolutely no diabetes in either side of my family, men or women. No balding either.
I'm the only one with any of the symptoms.
That doesn't rule out that it's genetic, though. It just means I didn't inherit it. Genes do have a tendency to mutate from time to time. I may pass it on to my children (if I can have any someday).
No one on my mothers side of the family has a history of PCOS or any of the symptoms.
HOWEVER. On my fathers side, my aunt was severly obese, had the excess hair, diabetes the whole deal. However, she had no problem getting pregnant (some would say it was a little to easy for her).
My grandmother on my fathers side was slightly overweight, had excess hair and was diabetic as well. I take after her more than I do any other relative. Hmmm... makes me wonder.
That's really interesting. No one on my mom's side of the family exhibits any symptoms, but my paternal grandmother and my dad's sister both do. My dad also went bald in his mid-late 20's, and he dealt with Type 2 diabetes before he passed away. That explains a lot. Thanks for the info!
Meghan
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I'm really interested by this question. The doctor I saw said I'd got this from my Dad - he had late onset diabetes in his 60s, cholesterol problems and also because of the pattern of his balding. The widow's peak effect - going thin either side but ok in the middle - is apparently a sign of PCOS in a male carrier rather than losing it right across the top. But I think Ma had it also. She got the kind of cancer you can get if PCOS is not diagnosed, she used to say she could only lose weight if she cut out bread and potatoes, she'd go on really strict diets and lose nothing, i think she lost babies before me, although it was never spoken about,... and I think she thought she was in the menopause when actually she had PCOS symptoms - which would account for why it went on for years and years and years. Both my parents have passed away, so I can't find out for sure, it's all theory. But I could have the genetic double whammy.
Although I've had some of the symptoms for years, they got worse and were only joined by news ones after a severely traumatic time last year. So maybe stress is needed in some people as a trigger ... perhaps it loiters needing some kind of spark. I don't know. But I do find it fascinating.
Here are my two cents...My Grandmother has PCOS, my Mother and Aunt have it, and I have it. On my fathers side my Grandmother had it, and my Aunt had it. My Brother has a little girl that is getting closser to pueberty and yeop...she too has tested positive for PCOS.
I think that my family would be a great medical study I tell you! I have dne a lot of research on this topic and have discovered that a man can be a carrier. An interesting fact that most articles point out is that if a man starts balding by age 30 than it is a sign that he is IR and can be a carrier for PCOS. My brother starting balding at 25, and his daughter has it so I can't help but think that there is truth to that theory. The Dr.'s that I have talked to seem to think that it is genetic as well. All of this family history almost makes me now want to ever try to have kids...I would feel horible if I had a daughter and she had to go through all that I have had to go through....sigh...who knows...
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i thought your information and links were very interesting.
i have been recently diagnosed with PCOS and have two brothers - both under 30 who started to suffer from early balding in their early 20's. i am suspecting varying degrees of insulin resistance in my brothers and me. my mother's brother has type II diabetes. my mother has hypoglycemia, I don't know of any female relatives with PCOS other than myself.
the topic on genetic linking of PCOS is very fascintating to me. let's post more references/information on this topic.
Thanks for those links, the first one is really interersting.
If anyone has any more information on the genetics of PCOS it would be very gratefully recieved, there are other rarer endo conditions in my family and i'm trying to work out if there is any link.
Mind you also maked me slightly worried about the PCOS joked I've been making about my husband, he seems to have alot the syptoms but never thought men could have it
I have PCOS, 2 Aunties on my fathers side have PCOS, a great-aunt and grandmother on my Grandfathers side have PCOS, my father, and Uncle are IR, but neither of them is balding, in fact very far from it. Both of them, plus my aunts tend to carry extra weight around the middle. Now that I have done some more research, all of my cousins exhibit the symptoms in some form or another...
I guess we might qualify for some studies also...
Ryanne
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I have often wondered about this as well. As for my family, my father (died at 48) had diabetes, and was balding at an early age, and his sister had diabetes (also died at 48).
I have two sisters (one deceased age 26, they other is 46) and none of us can have children. I don't know if they have/had PCOS because neither of them have been tested, but it bears thought.
Originally posted by Sillie Is there a connection between diabetes and PCOS?
In PCOS, a cycle starts wherein the body becomes resistant to insulin, leading to the release of more and more insulin to compensate. This condition is called hyperinsulinemia. The ovaries of PCOS women seem to be particularly sensitive to high blood levels of insulin and respond by overproducing androgens (such as testosterone). This disrupts the "feedback loop" between the ovaries and the pituitary gland, and the pituitary gland produces too much LH (luteinizing hormone), leading to more overproduction of androgens. The immature follicles in the ovaries then fail to convert the excess androgens to estrogen, which inhibits the development of the follicle. Ovulation doesn't take place because the egg couldn't develop properly, and the immature egg, instead of being released from the ovary, becomes a tiny cyst that starts producing its own supply of androgens, which interferes with next month's developing follicle.
If you have insulin resistance, your muscle, fat, and liver cells do not use insulin properly. The pancreas tries to keep up with the demand for insulin by producing more. Eventually, the pancreas cannot keep up with the body's need for insulin, and excess glucose builds up in the bloodstream. Many people with insulin resistance have high levels of blood glucose and high levels of insulin circulating in their blood at the same time.
People with blood glucose levels that are higher than normal but not yet in the diabetic range have "pre-diabetes." Doctors sometimes call this condition impaired fasting glucose (IFG) or impaired glucose tolerance (IGT), depending on the test used to diagnose it.
If you have pre-diabetes, you have a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes, formerly called adult-onset diabetes or noninsulin-dependent diabetes. Studies have shown that most people with pre-diabetes go on to develop type 2 diabetes within 10 years, and also have a higher risk of heart disease.
Type 2 diabetes is sometimes defined as the form of diabetes that develops when the body does not respond properly to insulin, as opposed to type 1 diabetes, in which the pancreas makes no insulin at all. At first, the pancreas keeps up with the added demand by producing more insulin. In time, however, it loses the ability to secrete enough insulin in response to meals.
My mother has PCOS, and out of her three girls I am the only one to be diagnosed with it.
As far as I know there is no one in the family with diabetes, however my father was balding, and the women on his side are all "above average"weight.
Don't you wish some DR would just figure this whole thing out?
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PCOS and Heredity 
