CNN: The women possibly at higher risk for COVID-19 that no one is talking about

Last July when Breanna Aguilar’s immediate family tested positive for COVID-19, she did not fit into any groups considered high risk for severe disease. However, her case can potentially shed light on the progression of long-haul COVID-19. Aguilar’s positive test was accompanied by weight gain, pelvic pain, cystic acne, and breast tenderness. Her long-haul symptoms culminated in the development of insulin resistance. A significant underlying condition that goes widely unreported among many women, often young and otherwise healthy like Aguilar, is polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). The condition often affects 1 in 10 women of the child-bearing range, which is promoted by an imbalance of reproductive hormones that can lead to irregular menstrual cycles, high androgen levels, and ovarian cysts. The impact of PCOS has been largely underestimated and frequently dismissed. Nevertheless, up to 80% of PCOS patients are overweight and are at a higher risk of complications such as, but not limited to heart disease and endometrial cancer. These complications have serious implications on the severity of COVID-19, thus women with PCOS need to be considered as a part of the high-risk group with more emphasis put on the fact that the impact of PCOS is not limited to effects on women’s health. Read the full article here