Health-related quality of life in women with polycystic ovary syndrome attending to a tertiary hospital in Southeastern Spain: a case-control study

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a chronic condition with symptoms affecting many women at reproductive age and evaluating their health-related quality of Life (HRQoL) is an important issue. Moreover, differences in the HRQoL between women with different PCOS phenotypes have never been analyzed. Therefore, the aim of our study was to compare the HRQoL between women with PCOS -and its phenotypes- and controls attending to a tertiary hospital. METHODS: A group of 117 women with PCOS and 153 controls were studied between 2014 and 2016. Controls were women without PCOS attending the gynecological outpatient clinic for routine examinations. Cases were women attending the same setting and diagnosed with PCOS. PCOS diagnose was performed following the Rotterdam Criteria and women were further classified by anovulatory or ovulatory phenotypic subtype. Women underwent physical and gynecological exams and completed health questionnaires including the Short Form-12v2. Eight scales and two component summary scores [Physical (PCS) and Mental (MCS), respectively] were calculated. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were performed to assess differences in HRQoL between women with PCOS and controls. RESULTS: All women with PCOS and anovulatory PCOS presented lower score in PCS compared to controls [mean (95%CI): 53.7 (52.5-54.9) and 52.9 (51.5-54.4) vs. 55.8 (54.8-56.8); p-values< 0.01], as well as lower scores for five out of the eight scales (p-values < 0.05) after adjusting by age, body mass index, infertility, educational level and current occupation. No significant differences were observed for the MCS between women with or without PCOS or its phenotypic subtypes. CONCLUSIONS: HRQoL was significantly decreased in adult women with PCOS and its anovulatory phenotype compared to controls attending the outpatient clinic of a tertiary hospital. These results may have implications for the clinical practice and suggest the need for specific interventions in women with PCOS.