Previous research has shown that women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) are at greater risk for mental health problems (such as depression and anxiety) later in life. A new study from the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden recently suggests that the cause may be related to a hormonal imbalance that affects the development of the brain before the patient is born, and the findings were published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. It is estimated that approximately 5 million women of childbearing age in the U.S. It is now accepted that female offspring of PCOS patients are at greater risk for PCOS, and male offspring are at greater risk for obesity and diabetes, which are also complications of PCOS. In addition, Dr. Stener-Victorin noted that 60 percent of patients with PCOS have at least one mental health problem, such as depression, anxiety and eating disorders, and are at high risk for suicide. This is either due to the patient’s exposure to androgens in the mother’s blood while in the mother’s womb, but the exact mechanism of this association is not yet clear. In the study, researchers exposed a group of pregnant rats to high doses of progesterone to mimic pregnant women with PCOS and then evaluated the effects of high levels of testosterone on the placenta of the pregnant rats, as well as the effects on fetal rat growth and (male and female) fetal rat health as adults. It was found that the offspring (male and female mice) of pregnant mice exposed to high levels of testosterone were more likely to exhibit anxiety in adulthood compared to the offspring of pregnant mice not exposed to high levels of testosterone. Further studies have shown that high levels of testosterone can significantly affect the development of the brain’s amygdala, which is involved in the regulation of the body’s emotions and behavior. Specifically, testosterone affects the activity of genes in the amygdala that regulate androgen receptors. In addition, the researchers found that high levels of testosterone can lead to the conversion of these receptors to estrogen receptors, as well as alterations in genes that regulate serotonin and GABA (a neurotransmitter involved in controlling anxiety behavior). However, when researchers used drugs to inhibit androgen and estrogen receptors in the offspring of PCOS pregnant rats, they found that this behavior prevented the onset of anxiety-like behaviors in the offspring’s adulthood. Regarding the importance of this study, Dr. Stener-Victorin said, “Our findings reveal for the first time a hitherto unknown biological mechanism that could help us understand why the offspring of women with PCOS are prone to anxiety in adulthood.”