EurekAlert! Science News: Teens with obesity and PCOS have more ‘unhealthy’ bacteria

21 Apr EurekAlert! Science News: Teens with obesity and PCOS have more ‘unhealthy’ bacteria

By The Endocrine Society
EurekAlert! Science News

Teens with obesity and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) have more “unhealthy” gut bacteria, suggesting the microbiome may play a role in the disorder, according to new research published in the Endocrine Society’s Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

“We found that in adolescents with PCOS and obesity, the bacterial profile (microbiome) from stool has more ‘unhealthy’ bacteria compared to teens without PCOS,” said the study’s corresponding author, Melanie Cree Green, M.D., Ph.D., of Children’s Hospital Colorado in Aurora, Colo. “The unhealthy bacteria related to higher testosterone concentrations and markers of metabolic complications.”