Research

Hormonal

Obese women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) have a significantly higher prevalence and severity of Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) compared to age- and weight-matched controls, driven by elevated androgen levels and central obesity.

If you are an obese woman diagnosed with PCOS, you should be screened for Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) even if you do not snore heavily. The risk is significantly higher than in other obese women due to hormonal factors. Ask your doctor for a sleep study if you experience daytime sleepiness or other symptoms.

GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
Women with PCOS had a higher AHI than controls (22.5 6 6.0, vs. 6.7 6 1.0, P 5 0.008). Women with PCOS were also more likely to suffer from symptomatic OSA syndrome (44.4% vs. 5.5%, P 5 0.008).
Robert Fogel et al. · The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism · 2001

Why this rating

Randomized controlled trial design with matched controls, though sample size is small (n=18 per group).

Source

Increased Prevalence of Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome in Obese Women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome<sup>1</sup>

Robert Fogel et al. · The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism · 2001

DOI 10.1210/jcem.86.3.7316

cross_sectional · n=36Cited 260×
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DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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