The prevalence of type 2 diabetes (T2D) in adolescents is increasing globally. It is well documented that girls with T2D are at risk of developing polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), but the prevalence of PCOS among girls with T2D still remains unveiled. A recent review and meta-analysis published in Jama Network Open determined the prevalence of PCOS in girls with T2D and assessed the association of obesity and race with this prevalence. The final analysis included six cohort studies — five retrospective and one prospective — involving 470 girls with diabetes (mean age at diabetes diagnosis, 12.9 to 16.1 years). The meta-analysis was conducted using the metafor package in RStudio statistical software version 1.1.383 and R statistical software version 3.4.3 (R Project for Statistical Computing).

The observations from the analysis showed that approximately 1 in 5 girls with T2D had PCOS. The prevalence (weighted percentage) of PCOS across the included studies was 19.58% (95% CI, 12.02%-27.14%). Heterogeneity was moderate to high (I 2 = 74%; P = .002). The prevalence was 17.00% in White individuals, 23.10% in Indian individuals and 2.00% in Indigenous individuals in Canada.

The study concluded that the observation is particularly important in the pediatric type 2 diabetes population. Of note, the studies including larger numbers of adolescents did not report the criteria used to diagnose PCOS. The results of this study highlight the hurdles in diagnosing PCOS in adolescent females due to varying criteria from current guidelines available and thus necessitated the need for a consensus in establishing diagnostic criteria for PCOS in adolescents.