The risk of PCOs in working women
Poly-cystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a disorder of endocrine glands and it is caused by hormonal imbalance in women [1]. It is a silent and non-contagious disease [3] and appears as a sort of insulin resistance in women along with probable changes in cortisol and melatonin secretion; which are the key indicators of hypothalamus, hypophyses, and adrenal function [3, 4]. According to the measures introduced by the National Institute of Health (NIH) and Rotterdam measures, the prevalence of PCOS is about 6-10% and 15% respectively [2]. The syndrome causes diverse and notable complications like infertility, hypoestrogenism, hirsutism, insulin resistance, glucose intolerance, diabetes type II, and cardiovascular disorder, anxiety, depression, and low quality of life [1]. Despite all these problems caused by PCOS, there is no public awareness of it [7]. As suggested by studies, women with PCOS suffer from a higher social stress and other life stresses as well. One of these stresses is occupational stress and as shown by studies, occupational stress is the second occupational health issue [11]. By definition, occupational stress refers to any non-useful psychological or physical response caused by a lack of fitness between the responsibility assigned at work and one’s capabilities, which might lead to aggressive behaviors, work accidents, psychological and mental disorders, or even death. Occupational stress affects one’s health and quality of life and increases the risk of work accidents. Experiencing stress might cause destructive effects on physical and psychological health like hypertension, heart attack, depression, and anxiety.
Chronic depression might cause changes in nutritional habits so that many find overeating a way to fight stress, which leads to obesity and abdominal fat – both as the key risk factors of diabetes type II [8, 12]. In addition, unhealthy nutrition results in insulin resistance so that there is a significant relationship between insulin resistance and clinical problems like non-alcoholic fatty liver and PCOS. On the other hand, some of occupational risk factors like inconsistency of circadian rhythm, overnight sleep disruption, polluted environment at work (particles, solvents), exposure to heavy metals (arsenic, mercury) or stable organic pollutants increase the risk of insulin resistance. Many jobs are featured with these risk factors. As shown by other studies, anxiety, depression, and lack of physical activity are very common in women with POCS [4, 12]. In general, working women are under heavy stresses as in addition to their work, they are in charge of home affairs. In light of this introduction, the hypothesis of the present study is that working women are at a higher risk of developing PCOS.