Long-term study of androgens and fatty liver disease in young women with and without PCOS

The researchers want to learn how androgens, a type of sex hormone, might affect nonalcoholic fatty liver (NAFLD) in young women over time. NAFLD happens when fat builds up in the liver which can cause damage to the liver such as inflammation or scarring.

Young women with a condition called polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) have a high risk for NAFLD, and they often have high androgen levels too. So the researchers are recruiting young women with PCOS as well as those without PCOS, and will compare changes in NAFLD over time between young women with and without PCOS.

This study is funded by the National Institutes of Health