ABSTRACT
Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) is one of the most common endocrine disturbances in women of reproductive age. Recently it has been postulated that its presence is linked to increased risk for cardiovascular diseases and type 2 diabetes in affected women. This makes necessary that PCOS is accepted not only as a reproductive issue, bus as a serious metabolic disease that carries important health risks with increasing age. In the contemporary studies much attention is given to PCOS comorbidites, including cardiovascular diseases and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). OSA is a chronic condition that is characterized by repeating collapsing of upper airways during sleep that leads to severe hypoxemia and frequent awakening. OSA is a relatively rare condition in premenopausal women without PCOS and is commonly associated with obesity. On the other hand it is thought that PCOS patients have significantly higher risk. OSA severity is directly linked to plasma glucose and insulin levels and homeostatic model assessment (HOMA)-index in PCOS patients. It appears that the progressive worsening of PCOS clinical presentation leads to OSA that in turn aggravates the metabolic disturbances, associated with the syndrome.
