Maternal factors associated with offspring polycystic ovarian syndrome

In this Swedish national registry‐based cohort study, Valgeirsdottir et al. has sought to determine the association between in utero exposures and birth indices and the subsequent development of polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) after age 15. To do this, they selected 681 123 girls whose birth was recorded in the Swedish birth registry between 1982 and 1995. They followed the girls in the Swedish Patient Registry until 2010 for a diagnosis of PCOS using International Classification of Diseases (ICD) codes. The authors found that in utero exposure to maternal obesity and smoking, but not maternal pre‐eclampsia or gestational diabetes, increased the risk of PCOS as an adolescent or young adult.