Lifestyle and Environment Nutrition and Metabolic Health
RRM Academy Synopsis
Women with PCOS have over three times the odds of an eating disorder
Women with PCOS had over three times the odds of an eating disorder diagnosis that women without PCOS had, a 2019 narrative review reports. Binge eating symptoms ranged from 6.8% to 58% across the studies it gathered. PCOS is also called PMOS, Polyendocrine Metabolic Ovarian Syndrome.
Key Findings
- Across four studies, women with PCOS had an odds ratio of 3.05 (95% CI 1.33, 6.99) for abnormal eating disorder scores, compared with women without PCOS.
- The same meta-analysis found odds of an eating disorder diagnosis of 3.87 (95% CI 1.43, 10.49) in women with PCOS compared with women without PCOS.
- The systematic review that the meta-analysis came from included eight studies, covering 470 women with PCOS and 390 controls.
- Studies of clinically significant disordered eating reported binge eating symptoms in 6.8% to 58% of women with PCOS. Diagnosed binge eating disorder ranged from 4% to 15%.
- Prevalence of any diagnosed eating disorder ranged from 0% to 22.5% across the reviewed studies.
Interpretation
The authors wrote a narrative review. They gathered studies from their clinical expertise and set no fixed inclusion rules. The authors note that the PCOS group had a higher BMI than controls, which may explain some variation in binge eating. Androgens, insulin resistance, body dissatisfaction, and mood are proposed explanations. The authors suggest longitudinal studies to clarify the connections.
RRM Context
RRM treats the whole person behind a PCOS (PMOS) diagnosis. The review ties eating habits, mood, and body image to hormones and insulin as possible links. The 2018 Androgen Excess-PCOS society guidelines advise screening women with PCOS for disordered eating. For women with both PCOS and an eating disorder, the authors call a flexible approach to weight management optimal.
Abstract
Emerging evidence suggests that disordered eating, particularly binge-eating symptomatology, is overrepresented within Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) populations. This comorbidity presents a clinical dilemma as current treatment approaches for PCOS emphasize the importance of weight management, diet, exercise, and the potential for harm of such treatment approaches in PCOS patients with comorbid disordered eating. However, limited research has assessed the occurrence of binge eating and disordered eating in PCOS patients. Consequently, little is known about the prevalence of binge eating in PCOS, and the possible etiological processes to explain this comorbidity remain poorly understood. Given the paucity of research on this topic, the aims of this narrative review are fourfold: 1) to outline the main symptoms of PCOS and binge eating; 2) to provide an overview of the prevalence of binge eating in PCOS; 3) to outline possible etiological factors for the comorbidity between PCOS and binge eating; and 4) to provide an overview of management strategies of binge eating in PCOS.
Topics
Keywords
PCOS, binge eating, eating disorders, management, prevalence, risk factors
