ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Reprod. Health
Sec. Reproductive Epidemiology
Volume 7 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/frph.2025.1600995
This article is part of the Research TopicPolycystic Ovarian Syndrome in AdolescenceView all 6 articles
The evolution of the global disease burden of polycystic ovary syndrome and the role of regional heterogeneity in high Body mass index exposure: A spatiotemporal analysis based on the Global Burden of Disease 2021
Provisionally accepted
- 1The Reproductive Medicine Department of Shanxi Provincial People's Hospital,, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, Shanxi Province, China
- 2The Oncology Department of Shanxi Provincial People's Hospital,, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, Shanxi Province, China
- 3School of Public Health,, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, Shanxi Province, China
Select one of your emails
You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:
Notify me on publication
Please enter your email address:
If you already have an account, please login
You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here
Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a leading cause of infertility in women of reproductive age. Using data from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2021 study, we analyzed the global burden of PCOS from 1990 to 2021 across 204 countries and territories, assessing prevalence, incidence, years lived with disability (YLDs), and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) by age and sociodemographic index (SDI). Estimates were reported as absolute numbers, age-standardized rates (ASR) per 100,000 population, 95% uncertainty intervals (UI), and estimated annual percentage changes (EAPCs). In 2021, the global age-standardized prevalence rate (ASPR) was 867.7 per 100,000 individuals (95% UI: 618.7–1195.3), reflecting a 0.75% (95% CI: 0.71–0.78) increase since 1990, with total cases reaching 69.5 million (95% UI: 49.5–95.7 million). Incidence was highest among adolescents aged 15–19, while prevalence peaked in women aged 30–34. Regions with low and middle SDI experienced the fastest growth (EAPC: 1.76, 95% CI: 1.71–1.81), whereas high-SDI regions remained stable (EAPC: 0.03, 95% CI: 0.14–0.2). The United States had the highest ASPR (1958.7, 95% UI: 1463.5–2556.9), while Central Europe had the lowest (111.7, 95% UI: 77–159.2), and Southeast Asia recorded the fastest growth (EAPC: 2.22, 95% CI: 2.11–2.32). Globally, 3.7% of PCOS patients experienced infertility in 2021, predominantly secondary (80.2%) compared to primary (19.8%), with the proportion of PCOS higher in secondary infertility cases (13%) than primary (5%), second only to Turner’s syndrome. High BMI exposure was strongly linked to PCOS burden with clear age- and region-specific heterogeneity: disease burden decreased with age, peaked when BMI was
Keywords: Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, Body Mass Index, disease burden, global health, Non-communicable diseases, Menopause
Received: 27 Mar 2025; Accepted: 20 Oct 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 英, 吴, Liu and Feng. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
JIanrong Liu, liujianrong3@sina.com
Yongliang Feng, yongliang.feng@sxmu.edu.cn
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.