WOMEN’S HEALTH

PCOS IN BLACK WOMEN: the overlooked realities in beauty and health

Dr Amina Hersi, GP and founder of Polybiotics, takes a look at how PCOS affects Black women differently and the systemic barriers and bias that exacerbate symptoms

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) affects around one in 10 women of reproductive age. It is one of the most common hormonal conditions seen in clinics, but when it comes to Black women, the conversation often falls short. Both medicine and beauty have blind spots that leave Black women underserved and sometimes harmed.

This is personal as well as professional. As a Black woman with PCOS, and as the founder of Polybiotics, I wanted to ensure that women who look like me could finally see themselves in the PCOS space. Here’s why that representation matters and what doctors in the PCOS space need to know.

WHY PCOS HITS BLACK WOMEN HARDER

In the UK, type 2 diabetes is more common and often diagnosed earlier in Black African and Caribbean communities. Hypertension and cardiovascular disease follow the same trend.

Layer PCOS on top of that, and the risks escalate. Research shows that Black women with PCOS are more likely to develop insulin resistance, often a precursor to diabetes, abnormal cholesterol and metabolic dysfunction, even at the same BMI as white women. That can mean an earlier and more aggressive pathway towards diabetes and heart disease. When the stakes are this high we are placing PCOS into indirect silent killer territory; diagnosis is more important than ever.