gynaecology

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) has recently been renamed polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome (PMOS), to emphasise its metabolic and endocrine dimensions, rather than viewing it solely as a gynaecological condition. A study involving more than 400,000 women has linked PPOS to an increased incidence of cardiovascular events, specifically atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. This association was observed independently of traditional cardiovascular risk factors such as diabetes, dyslipidaemia, obesity, and hypertension, suggesting that these factors alone do not fully explain the relationship. The study included women aged 18–50 years with PMOS and drew data from the Optum Clinformatics Data Mart patient database. The findings were published in The Lancet Obstetrics, Gynaecology & Women’s Health.

An analysis based on Google Trends data collected between 2005 and 2025 showed that the proportion of menopause-related searches referring to commercial products and services increased by between 15 and 20 percentage points in the UK, Australia and the US. These findings suggest that people may increasingly be seeking non-clinical approaches to managing the menopause, not only for symptom relief but also for guidance, monitoring and support outside of clinical consultations. The study is published today in the journal JAMA Network Open.

A team in the United States has developed an open-source tool that enables the analysis of health data related to the menstrual cycle. So far, after analyzing 5,674 non-reproductive cycles recorded by 753 participants, they have found correlations between cycle variability, basal body temperature, and aging. According to the authors, who published the results in Science Advances, the algorithm could help advance the discovery of digital biomarkers, and they note that “most attention in menstrual health focuses exclusively on the reproductive aspect and fails to leverage these non-reproductive menstrual cycles (99%) as health indicators.” 

The BMJ has published a meta-analysis about weight gain in pregnant women and the risks it poses to their health and that of their babies. According to the study, 68% of pregnancies involve weight gain that is either above or below the recommended level, which is associated with complications such as premature birth, high birth weight, and admission to intensive care. The review included data from 1.6 million women from various regions of the world and different income levels, recorded between 2009 and 2024.

In humans, larger birth canals are associated with slower labour and less back pain, but a higher risk of osteoarthritis of the hip, while narrower birth canals are associated with a lower risk of pelvic floor disorders, but a higher risk of obstructed labour, according to one study. The analysis published in Science is based on genetic and clinical data and bone densitometry images from more than 31,000 people in the UK Biobank to identify 180 genetic positions associated with seven ‘highly heritable’ pelvic characteristics.

A US study analysed data from more than 110,000 women since 1993 and found that those with a history of endometriosis had a 31% higher risk of premature death (before the age of 70). In absolute terms, the rate of premature death in women with and without endometriosis was 2 and 1.4 per 1,000 person-years, respectively. In contrast, the presence of uterine fibroids was not associated with an overall increased risk, although the risk of death from gynaecological tumours was increased. The results are published in The BMJ.

Several studies have linked endometriosis to an increased risk of developing ovarian cancer. New research conducted in the United States on nearly half a million women has confirmed this association. Although the absolute risk remains low, the overall likelihood is four times higher than in the general population. However, the risk is higher when the endometriosis is of the infiltrative type or when an endometrioma develops in the ovary. The authors, who publish their results in the journal JAMA, raise the possibility of screening these women, because "precision medicine is more than just genetics".

Hormonal therapy to treat breast cancer is associated with a lower risk of Alzheimer's disease and dementia in women over 65, a study says. The retrospective analysis is based on data from more than 18,000 women with breast cancer in the US: two-thirds of them had received hormone therapy and one-third had not. The "protective effect" of hormone therapy declines with age and varies by ethnicity, adds the article published in JAMA Network Open. 

Artemisinins, plant-based antimalarials, may serve as a treatment for polycystic ovary syndrome - which affects millions of women worldwide and can lead to infertility - according to a new study published in Science. The compounds suppressed ovarian androgen production in rodents, as well as in a small cohort of 19 human patients for 12 weeks, leading to more regular menstrual cycles without side effects. 

Research published in JAMA Network Open indicates that women with premenstrual disorders diagnosed before the age of 25 have a higher risk of all-cause mortality and death by suicide. For death by suicide, the risk increased regardless of age at diagnosis. However, in general, women with premenstrual disorders do not have an increased risk of premature death from natural and unnatural causes. The study compares over several years a group of more than 67,000 women in Sweden with a diagnosed disorder with a group of more than 338,000 women without such a diagnosis.