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Although many women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), a major cause of anovulatory infertility, are obese (body-mass index [BMI] ≥30 kg/m2), separating the relative effects of obesity and PCOS on fertility has been difficult. In a subanalysis of 1950 women in the Nurses' Health Study who were actively attempting to become pregnant, the effect of BMI on time to pregnancy was examined.
Among participants, 16% were obese, and 22% were overweight. Of the obese women (mean BMI, 34.7), 89% reported regular menstrual cycles. After controlling for PCOS diagnosis, obese women with regular cycles required a mean of 1.0 additional month to achieve pregnancy compared with women with normal BMI. Women who were overweight required 0.5 additional mont…