In South Asian culture, femininity is defined as motherhood ⁴. 

• According to Indian studies, PCOS itself is not directly related to social and cultural factors ⁴, but one of the main symptoms, menstrual irregularities, has social implications, making it difficult to rule out the possibility of stigmatization ⁵. 

• In conservative families, there is a possibility of hiding the PCOS patients ⁶.

  • • Some people hide their condition for fear of being judged by others ⁶,⁷. However, one study reported that there are no contraindications and that PCOS patients can be treated freely ⁶. 

• In some parts of Pakistan and India, women are treated differently based on their fertility ⁷.

  • • Women are treated more respectfully when they have children ⁷,⁸. If pregnancy is impossible, the husband can take another wife ⁸. 

• This is why PCOS patients living in South Asia tend to hide and underestimate the symptoms of PCOS ⁸. 

• A study conducted in India found that PCOS patients found symptoms for the first time and on average took about a year to receive medical assistance ⁹. 

The Influence of Religion on PCOS:

• Hinduism

  • Many Hindu women tries Ayurvedic medicine & yoga ¹⁰ to relieve symptoms

  • Ashwagandha & herbs are commonly used along with cinnamon, and turmeric ¹⁰. 

  • Yoga promotes hormonal balance through psychological stability, and these methods are preferred due to its cultural familiarity and accessibility ¹⁰. 

• Islam (Pakistan & Bangladesh)

  • Muslim women tend to visit shrines for treatment (wears taweez or reciting prayers) ¹⁰. 

  • Islam emphasizes childbirth, and some believe that prayers and rituals should be performed with medical treatments ¹⁰. 

• Sikhism

  •  Some Sikh women experiencing hirsutism (excessive hair growth) due to PCOS faces a religious dilemma ¹¹.

  • They have to choose between hirsutism treatment or adhering to their religious beliefs ¹¹. 

In this region, the social value of women is also linked to their ability to have children. Women who cannot conceive may be socially isolated ¹². 

• Anovulation, the main symptom of PCOS could lead to infertility, and many women suffer from this stigma ¹², ¹³. 

• In remote areas, the situation is considered a personal problem ¹³.

  • • In Nigeria, when women have difficulty conceiving, there are cases where they believe that their uterus is damaged by spiritual issues or abortion ¹³.

    • They also believe in a spiritual being called a 'spirit husband' and look for the cause of all situations as the woman's personal problems ¹³.

• These social perceptions and stigmas of infertile women can delay diagnosis  ⁸.

• They experience loneliness, low self-esteem, and jealousy toward other mothers due to PCOS and their infertility  ⁸.

• In the case of Oman, PCOS patients reported feeling 'inferior' to women who have given birth  ⁸. 

Join WhatsApp Support Group for PCOS! 

• In Nigeria, help is being provided through WhatsApp ¹³. The goal is to help women understand and overcome PCOS ¹³. 

• The group focuses on Nigeria, Ghana, and Sierra Leone, protecting them from misinformation ¹³. 

East Asia diagnoses women's health from the perspectives of Oriental & Western medicine ¹⁴. 

Although PCOS is more common in China than elsewhere ¹⁵, the Confucian and conservative environment makes it socially taboo for women to talk about their condition with others ¹⁶. 

• In a study in the U.S., it was shown that Chinese-American groups were more afraid of the social perception of infertility, and were less likely to receive treatment when compared to other Asian-American groups ¹⁶.

• Traditional Chinese medicine diagnoses PCOS as a symptom that can be corrected, and records were found of herbs being prescribed to PCOS patients in Beijing ¹⁷. These are called 'herbal medicines' and showed minimal effects ¹⁴, ¹⁷. 

• Acupuncture is also an important part of Oriental medicine, and scholars say that patients may benefit from a combination of the two treatments ¹⁴, ¹⁸. 

In the West, a large proportion of patients are in the upper BMI range, and studies have shown that obesity increases the risk of PCOS ¹⁹. 

• In contrast, East Asian patients tend to have a relatively low BMI ¹⁹, ²¹ and higher abdominal fat. The degree of hirsutism also varies. Hirsutism was measured by the mFG score* ²⁰, and East Asians had lower scores, while South Asian, Middle Eastern, and Hispanic patients had higher scores and experienced more severe hirsutism ¹⁹, ²⁰. However, despite these BMIs, East Asian women were more likely to have diabetes than women of other ethnicities ²¹. 

*The mFG score is a unit based on hair growth in nine body parts that are affected by androgens ²⁰.

In North America, awareness has increased through various organizations such as PCOS. Together and PCOS Awareness Association, and through increased media use ²².

• However, in a culturally diverse society, social stigma can arise due to cultural differences ¹⁶.

• According to one study, women of African and Asian descent felt that the social perception of PCOS was more detrimental to them ¹⁶. 

There are also studies showing that ethnic minorities living in the U.S. are culturally comfortable with PCOS treatment ²⁴.

• For example, there are findings that health care in Native American women with PCOS from tribal cultures is influenced by religious beliefs ²⁴. Some may prefer traditional healing methods or guidance from tribal elders ²⁴. 

In North America, there are  many campaigns to raise public awareness about PCOS ²². Currently, September is designated as PCOS Awareness Month.

In Latin America, efforts are also being made to explain the correlation between PCOS and obesity, talk bout psychological problems, and eliminate negative social perceptions ²³.