Subject
PCOS is one of the major reproductive health issues, thought to be multifactorial i.e., influenced by genetic, epigenetic and environmental factors. It needs serious attention as one of the biggest global health problems but also as an economic burden too, due to the rapid increase in PCOs cases Globally. From Anthropological perspective, it causes a lot of health hazards yet it has still not been selected out of the population in the course of evolution. Rather, it envisages the possibility of positive selection for PCOS and the related alleles, signifying the evolutionary basis of the syndrome.
Objectives
Under this background, the aim of the present discourse was to discern some possible hypothesis on the anthropological appraisal of PCOS from an evolutionary perspective. Therefore, we reviewed pertinent articles using different search engines to generate the data.
Academic or Practical Relevance to the Anthropological Sciences
Literature search suggests that, there are a few Hypotheses relating to the circumstances under which PCOS might have evolved in course of Evolution. GWAS study reported that the evolutionary inherited susceptibility loci of PCOS is associated with mutation in CYP21A, FSHR and FSHB, INSR and LPS gene, contributes to Elevated androgen production, Disrupted follicular growth, Hyperinsulinemia/Insulin resistance and Leptin deficiency respectively. From the evolutionary perspective these mutations induced hormonal changes might have some compensatory adaptive mechanisms in the prehistoric times but in modern environments with high energy availability, it becomes an Evolutionary Mismatch between Neutral Gene Variants and Modern Urban Sedentary Environments. Therefore, it is fairly possible to state that PCOS is an ancient disorder which emerged from ancestral genetic variants. Therefore, Genetic counselling through prenatal diagnosis, at least in case of Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia, which is a cardinal feature of PCOS and treatment with glucocorticoids can be useful in reducing the chance of developing PCOS.
