Cowan, S., Grassi, A., Monahan Couch, L., Jeanes, Y., Lim, S., Pirotta, S., Harris, J., McGirr, C., & Moran, L. (2023). Evidence-Based Lifestyle Guidelines and Self-Management Strategies Utilized by Women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome. Nutrients, 15(3). https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15030589
Cowan S, Grassi A, Monahan Couch L, Jeanes Y, Lim S, Pirotta S, Harris J, McGirr C, Moran L. Evidence-Based Lifestyle Guidelines and Self-Management Strategies Utilized by Women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome. Nutrients. 2023;15(3). doi:10.3390/nu15030589
Cowan, S., et al. "Evidence-Based Lifestyle Guidelines and Self-Management Strategies Utilized by Women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome." Nutrients, vol. 15, no. 3, 2023.
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Few women with PCOS get diet advice from health professionals
25 out of 100 women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) got diet advice from a health professional. Another 59 out of 100 used other sources, an online survey of 1167 women found. Exercise advice split similarly: 14 and 67 out of 100.
Key Findings
Of 1167 women, 25% got diet advice and 14% exercise advice from health professionals. Alternative sources, including websites and social media, supplied diet advice to 59% and exercise advice to 67%.
Among women using other sources for diet advice, 44% used the internet and 19% used social media. Among those using other sources for exercise advice, 50% used the internet and social media.
93% knew of no PCOS guidelines on lifestyle from any national or international body. Formal diet guidelines guided 33% of women, and formal activity guidelines guided 16%.
57% followed a special diet. The paper says many did not reflect recommendations health professionals use for PCOS, though some, such as low glycemic index and low-energy diets, did.
Interpretation
The study is a cross-sectional survey, a single snapshot of self-reported habits. Women joined through a consumer PCOS website and two symposiums and reported their own diagnosis. Most were white (78%) and 70% were born in the United States. The authors suggest that advice found online may be inaccurate and lead to ineffective habits. The survey measured advice sources and self-management habits, with no health outcomes. The authors note results may not generalize beyond this group.
RRM Context
PCOS now also goes by PMOS (polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome). Infertility was reported by 38% of these women. Restorative reproductive medicine looks for the cause first. Care then fits the woman.
Our editorial summary of this paper, not the article's abstract.
Abstract
Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a complex endocrine disorder, affecting 13% of reproductive-aged women. While lifestyle management is the first-line treatment for improving complications, women experience challenges with implementation. This cross-sectional study aims to identify the types and sources of dietary and physical activity (PA) interventions implemented by women with PCOS and understand how they use self-management strategies to support lifestyle change. An online questionnaire was disseminated via a consumer-based PCOS website (May 2015-2016). Women (n = 1167) were aged 18-45 years and primarily born within the United States (70%). A quarter or less of women (diet 25%, PA 14%) sought lifestyle advice from health professionals (medical clinicians or dietitians) compared to over half (diet 59%, PA 67%) using alternative sources, namely from online platforms. While only 33% and 16% of women reported following formal dietary or PA guidelines, respectively, 57% had implemented a 'special diet' to manage their condition, many of which were inconsistent with evidence-based practice in PCOS. Participants also displayed a low level of engagement with important self-management behaviors, including goal setting and positive self-talk. These findings suggest that online information may promote inaccurate and ineffective lifestyle advice and emphasize the need to increase engagement with qualified health professionals.
Alesi S et al., 2022·Nutrients·Free full text on PubMed Central
Infertility is a global health concern affecting 48 million couples and 186 million individuals worldwide. Infertility creates a significant economic and social burden for couples who wish to conceive and has been associated with suboptimal lifestyle factors, including poor diet and physical inactivity. Modifying preconception nutrition to better adhere with Food-Based Dietary Guidelines (FBDGs) is a non-invasive and potentially effective means for improving fertility outcomes. While several dietary patterns have been associated with fertility outcomes, the mechanistic links between diet and infertility remain unclear. A key mechanism outlined in the literature relates to the adverse effects of inflammation on fertility, potentially contributing to irregular menstrual cyclicity, implantation failure, and other negative reproductive sequelae. Therefore, dietary interventions which act to reduce inflammation may improve fertility outcomes. This review consistently shows that adherence to anti-inflammatory diets such as the Mediterranean diet (specifically, increased intake of monounsaturated and n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, flavonoids, and reduced intake of red and processed meat) improves fertility, assisted reproductive technology (ART) success, and sperm quality in men. Therefore, integration of anti-inflammatory dietary patterns as low-risk adjunctive fertility treatments may improve fertility partially or fully and reduce the need for prolonged or intensive pharmacological or surgical interventions.
Carmichael MA et al., 2021·International journal of environmental research and public health·Free full text on PubMed Central
The effect of the menstrual cycle on physical performance is being increasingly recognised as a key consideration for women's sport and a critical field for further research. This narrative review explores the findings of studies investigating the effects of menstrual cycle phase on perceived and objectively measured performance in an athletic population. Studies examining perceived performance consistently report that female athletes identify their performance to be relatively worse during the early follicular and late luteal phases. Studies examining objective performance (using anaerobic, aerobic or strength-related tests) do not report clear, consistent effects of the impact of menstrual cycle phase on physical performance. Overall sport performance can be influenced by both perceived and physical factors. Hence, to optimise performance and management of eumenorrheic female athletes, there is a need for further research to quantify the impact of menstrual cycle phase on perceived and physical performance outcomes and to identify factors affecting variability in objective performance outcomes between studies.
Costello MF et al., 2019·Aust N Z J Obstet Gynaecol
Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is complex with reproductive, metabolic and psychological features. Infertility is a prevalent presenting feature of PCOS with approximately 75% of these women suffering infertility due to anovulation, making PCOS by far the most common cause of anovulatory infertility. Previous guidelines either lacked rigorous evidence-based processes, did not engage consumer and international multidisciplinary perspectives, or were outdated. This review paper aims to provide a brief update on the best available and most current research evidence supporting the treatment of PCOS which informed the recommendations in the assessment and treatment of infertility section of the international evidence-based guideline on PCOS 2018. International evidence-based guideline development engaged professional societies and consumer organisations with multidisciplinary experts and women with PCOS directly involved at all stages. Lifestyle change alone is considered the first-line treatment for the management of infertile anovulatory PCOS women who are overweight or obese. Letrozole should now be considered first-line pharmacological treatment for ovulation induction to improve fertility outcomes. Clomiphene citrate alone and metformin alone could also be used as first-line pharmacological therapy, although both are less effective than letrozole and metformin is less effective than clomiphene citrate in obese women. Gonadotrophins or laparoscopic ovarian surgery are usually second-line ovulation induction therapies. In the absence of an absolute indication for in vitro fertilisation (IVF) / intracytoplasmic sperm injection, women with PCOS and anovulatory infertility could be offered IVF as third-line therapy where firstor second-line ovulation induction therapies have failed. This review provides the best available evidence informing recommendations (along with clinical expertise and consumer preference) which provide clinicians with clear advice on best practice for the management of infertile women with PCOS.
Related research
Nutrition and Metabolic Health · Eating Disorders and Underfueling
Krug I et al., 2019·Neuropsychiatric disease and treatment·Free full text on PubMed Central
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.
Chavarro JE et al., 2007·Obstetrics and gynecology
To evaluate the relation of a dietary pattern and other lifestyle practices to risk of ovulatory disorder infertility. We followed a cohort of 17,544 women without a history of infertility for 8 years as they tried to become pregnant or became pregnant. A dietary score based on factors previously related to lower ovulatory disorder infertility (higher consumption of monounsaturated rather than trans fats, vegetable rather than animal protein sources, low glycemic carbohydrates, high fat dairy, multivitamins, and iron from plants and supplements) and other lifestyle information was prospectively related to the incidence of infertility. Increasing adherence to a "fertility diet" pattern was associated with a lower risk of ovulatory disorder infertility. The multivariable-adjusted relative risk of ovulatory disorder infertility comparing women in the highest with women in the lowest quintile of the "fertility diet" pattern score was 0.34 (95% confidence interval 0.23-0.48; P for trend<.001). This inverse relation was similar in subgroups defined by women's age, parity, and body weight. A combination of five or more low-risk lifestyle factors, including diet, weight control, and physical activity was associated with a 69% lower risk of ovulatory disorder infertility and an estimated population attributable risk of 66% (95% confidence interval 29-86%). Following a "fertility diet" pattern may favorably influence fertility in otherwise healthy women. Further, the majority of infertility cases due to ovulation disorders may be preventable through modifications of diet and lifestyle. II.
Aversa A et al., 2020·Frontiers in endocrinology·Free full text on PubMed Central
Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a very common endocrine and metabolic disorder with the involvement of both genetic and environmental factors. Although much has been clarified on its pathogenesis, diagnosis, clinical manifestations, and therapy, there are still areas of uncertainty. To address fundamental concepts, novel aspects and hypotheses, and future perspectives, including the possible additional benefits of treatment with nutraceuticals, an expert consensus panel formed by endocrinologists and gynecologists was established. After an independent review of the literature, the panel convened electronically on February 3, 2020, and six resolutions were created, debated, and agreed upon discussion, and finally approved in their final form in a consensus livestream meeting held on April 15. The summary of the resolutions are: (1) PCOS is a well-established medical condition that negatively affects reproduction, general health, sexual health, and quality of life; (2) the symptoms and signs of PCOS appear early in life especially in female newborns from PCOS carriers; (3) women with PCOS have significantly increased risk of pregnancy-related complications including gestational diabetes mellitus; (4) a male PCOS equivalent exists, and it may impact on metabolic health and probably on reproduction; (5) the evidence supports that medical therapy for PCOS is effective, rational, and evidence-based; (6) the evidence supports a major research initiative to explore possible benefits of nutraceutical therapy for PCOS. The proposed resolutions may be regarded as points of agreement based on the current scientific evidence available.
Farrell K et al., 2010·Fertil Steril·Free full text on PubMed Central
To summarize physiological and psychological characteristics that are common among women diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and provide evidence suggesting that addressing psychological disturbances can reduce or alleviate physical symptoms of PCOS through behavioral pathways and physiological pathways. METHOD(S): Empirical studies and expert consensuses pertaining to physiological, psychological, and medical management aspects of PCOS were identified and presented in this review. Articles were identified by searching Pubmed, PsycInfo, Medline ISI, CINAHL, or a Web browser (i.e., Google) using numerous combinations of terms pertaining to physiological, psychological, and medical management aspects of PCOS. An article was chosen to be included in this review if it reported findings and/or provided information that related to and helped support the main purpose(s) of this review article. RESULT(S): Available literature on the physiological (i.e., hyperandrogenism, central obesity, inflammation, insulin resistance) and psychological (i.e., depression, anxiety, eating disorders) factors among women with PCOS provides evidence that these various aspects of PCOS are strongly interrelated. CONCLUSION(S): The existence of these relationships among physiological and psychological factors strongly suggests that medical management of PCOS would greatly benefit from inclusion of psychological and behavioral approaches.
Lifestyle and Environment › Nutrition and Metabolic Health › Dietary Patterns
Siew Lim, Lisa Moran
S Lim, L Moran
PMID 36771296 36771296 DOI 10.3390/nu15030589 10.3390/nu15030589 Cowan et al. 2023, Cowan 2023
Cite this article
Cowan, S., Grassi, A., Monahan Couch, L., Jeanes, Y., Lim, S., Pirotta, S., Harris, J., McGirr, C., & Moran, L. (2023). Evidence-Based Lifestyle Guidelines and Self-Management Strategies Utilized by Women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome. Nutrients, 15(3). https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15030589
Cowan S, Grassi A, Monahan Couch L, Jeanes Y, Lim S, Pirotta S, Harris J, McGirr C, Moran L. Evidence-Based Lifestyle Guidelines and Self-Management Strategies Utilized by Women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome. Nutrients. 2023;15(3). doi:10.3390/nu15030589
Cowan, S., et al. "Evidence-Based Lifestyle Guidelines and Self-Management Strategies Utilized by Women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome." Nutrients, vol. 15, no. 3, 2023.
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