Skip to main content
. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2014 Jul 1.
Published in final edited form as: Fertil Steril. 2013 Jul;100(1):2–11. doi: 10.1016/j.fertnstert.2013.05.023

Table 1.

Human data most relevant to in utero origins of PCOS.

a. Human findings consistent with developmental origins for PCOS
  • -

    T concentration is high in mid-gestational amniotic fluid obtained from daughters of pregnant women with PCOS (76)

  • -

    T concentration is high in umbilical cord blood from girls of pregnant PCOS women at term (78)

  • -

    High circulating AMH in infant daughters of women with PCOS (70)

  • -

    Increased incidence of PCOS in women with classical adrenal hyperplasia or fetal T-secreting tumor, and thus fetal T excess (60)

  • -

    Thinness at birth associates with the presence of all three PCOS diagnostic criteria in adulthood, while high birth weight associates with hyperandrogenism in adult women (56)

  • -

    2nd to 4th finger length ratio (this trait is determined in utero) positively correlates with adult T levels in PCOS women (81, 82), as predicted from PCOS-like monkeys (66)

  • -

    Male-like, diminutive 2nd to 4th finger length ratio (trait is determined in utero) found in women with PCOS (93)

b. Human findings inconsistent with developmental origins for PCOS
  • -

    Low androstenedione and no elevated T in umbilical cord blood from girls of pregnant PCOS women at term (70, 79)

  • -

    High umbilical cord T levels in girls of normal women at term do not associate with adolescent appearance of PCOS (80)

  • -

    Women with male co-twins, and so potentially exposed to excess fetal T, do not have increased incidence of PCOS (95)

  • -

    Male-like, diminutive 2nd to 4th finger length ratio (trait is determined in utero) not found in women with PCOS (81, 82)