RESUMO
There is very little information about the prevalence of polycystic ovary syndrome at the community level; heterogeneity in diagnostic criteria and lack of universal agreement on the definition of each criterion for population based studies complicate comparability of existing literature. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of different phenotypes of polycystic ovary syndrome in a large community-based study conducted in the southwest of Iran. A total of 646 reproductive-aged women were randomly selected using the stratified, multistage probability cluster sampling method. The prevalence of polycystic ovary syndrome according to the Rotterdam criteria and its various phenotypes were estimated using universal assessment of ultrasonographic parameters, hormonal profiles and clinical histories. The estimated prevalence of polycystic ovary syndrome in this population based study using the Rotterdam criteria was 14.1[n=85]. There were 279 [46.3%] women who had no symptoms of polycystic ovary syndrome and were completely normal. Among women with polycystic ovary syndrome, phenotypes A, B, C and D were observed in 11, 19, 42 and 13 women, respectively. The most common symptoms observed in this study in order of frequency were hyperandrogenism, polycystic ovary on sonography and menstrual disorders, indicating the need for more studies on the priority of paraclinical assessment, based on universal agreement on definitions for the diagnosis of polycystic ovary syndrome