PCOD Vs PCOS: As many of us know now, polycystic ovaries are common among women today and lifestyle is often attributed to be the cause behind this. Having polycystic ovaries means hormone imbalance, period problems including delayed or missed periods, obesity, facial hair growth and biggest of all, infertility. But then we have heard of PCOD and PCOS both being being used. While the former stands for Polycystic Ovarian Disease, the latter stands for olycystic Ovarian Syndrome. So are PCOD and PCOS same things or are they different? “There are some experts who say both are same things but it is not so as PCOS carries more hormonal imbalance, and its consequences,” says Dr Ankita Chandna, Associate Director, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Max Super Speciality Hospital, Shalimar Bagh, New Delhi.
On PCOS Awareness Month (Septembe 1-30), Dr Ankita Chandna lists out the key difference between PCOD and PCOS below:
PCOD: Symptoms, causes and care
– It is a medical condition in which ovaries produce immature eggs in large number and over the time these become cysts in ovaries
– Symptoms are irregular periods and weight gain
– Incidence is 10%
– It usually does not affect fertility and there are no serious complications
– PCOD can be controlled by diet and life style modification
PCOS: Symptoms, causes and care
– It is a metabolic disorder in which women are affected by hormonal imbalance. There is anovulation where ovaries stop releasing eggs. There is also increase level of male hormones.
– Symptoms are hair loss, obesity and Infertility.
– Incidence 0.2% -2.5 %.
– It affects fertility as women can’t ovulate and even if they get pregnant there is risk of miscarriage and complications in pregnancy
– It is more serious condition and requires proper medical attention or surgical treatment.
– Serious complications are Type 2 DM, Heart Disease, HTN, Endometrial Cancer (later stage).
Following the advent of the internet when information is readily available and we have to do is ‘click’, a lot of misinformation pertaining to PCOD and PCOS and their allied conditions keep getting circulated. In world of social media, it’s not unusual to come across new-age influencers or people lacking any medical knowledge who keep telling people the Dos and Don’ts of PCOD/PCOS, when in reality following these steps blindly can have serious health implications. As experts point out, people should only take advice of licenced medical professionals and follow their prescription to treat the conditions.