Beginning in 1991, the investigators tested the hypothesis that women with PCOS, who comprise 5 percent of the female population, are at greater risk of coronary heart disease than non-PCOS women. They traced and followed-up, via telephone interviews, 244 women with PCOS and 244 age-matched neighborhood controls. They then conducted a cross-sectional study to assess reproductive, hormonal and other coronary heart disease risk factors in the women with PCOS compared with the controls. Evaluation consisted of an office visit to determine total cholesterol, triglycerides, HDL cholesterol, fasting and two hour glucose and insulin, blood pressure, lifetime cigarette smoking, alcohol intake, reproductive history, lifetime medication usage, family history of PCOS, and serum hormone concentrations. At this evaluation, a physician diagnosis of PCOS from history, physical exam, and hormone studies was made. In addition, information on the number of pregnancies, number of live births, menstrual history, and history of surgical or natural menopause was obtained. Women with evidence of thyroid, adrenal or pituitary disease were excluded.