Prevalence and characteristics of polycystic ovarian syndrome in a sample of infertile Kurdish women attending IVF infertility center in maternity teaching hospital of Erbil City

Objective: To estimate the prevalence of polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), and to compare the clinical, hormonal and ultrasonography features between infertile women with or without PCOS. Design: A descriptive, comparative study. Materials and Methods: This study was conducted from May 1, 2007 to August 1, 2008, in the Infertility Care and IVF center in Maternity Teaching Hospital, Erbil city, Kurdistan region, North of Iraq. A total of 320 infertile women aged 18 45 years, were evaluated for clinical features (oligo-/amenorrhea, hirsutism), body mass index, waist-hip ratio (WHR) and hormonal measures. Transvaginal ultrasonography was used to assess the ovarian morphology. The Rotterdam 2003 criteria adopted by the European Society for Human reproduction and Embryology and the American Society for Reproductive Medicine were used to diagnose cases of PCOS. Data analysis was performed using the SPSS version 15. Results: The prevalence of PCOS was 33%. There were significant differences between the two groups in terms of oligo-/amenorrhea, hirsutism, WHR, and ovarian ultrasound features. There were no significant differences between the two groups in correlations between the level of obesity with the incidences of anovulation, hyperandrogenemia and hirsutism or with hormonal features. Conclusions: A high prevalence rate of PCOS was observed among infertile women attending IVF center using the Rotterdam 2003 criteria for diagnosis.