Dietary and Physical Activity Habits in Adolescent Girls with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS)-HAstudy

Abstract

The role of inappropriate lifestyle in the etiology of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and its metabolic and reproductive complications has attracted much attention in recent years; however, most studies involve adult patients. Thus, the study aimed to compare dietary patterns, physical activity, metabolic, anthropometric and inflammatory markers of 14–18-year-old girls with and without PCOS (n = 61 and n = 35, respectively) as well as to assess correlations between concentrations of metabolic and inflammatory markers and macronutrient intake and to identify the independent predictors of PCOS, related to diet and physical activity (PA). Compared to the control group, PCOS girls consumed significantly more total fat (p = 0.0005), including both saturated (SFA) (p = 0.03), monounsaturated (MUFA) (p = 0.0003) and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) (p = 0.01). A significantly higher percentage of PCOS patients consumed high and medium glycemic index (GI) foods (p = 0.03) and represented a low level of PA, both during school and in leisure time (41.67 vs. 6.06%; p = 0.0001 and 32.79 vs. 5.71%; p = 0.003, respectively). The PCOS group had also significantly higher waist circumference (WC), C-reactive protein (CRP) (p = 0.01), LDL cholesterol (p = 0.01), fasting insulin (p = 0.002) and HOMA-IR (p = 0.006) levels. There was an inverse correlation between fiber intake and fasting insulin, (p = 0.0002, r = −0.37), HOMA-IR (p = 0.0004, r = −0.35), WC (p = 0.029; r = −0.222) and a positive relationship between high and medium GI diet and insulin concentration (p = 0.003; r = 0.3). An increase of 10 g/day in total fat intake per day increases the probability of PCOS by 1.4 times. If the SFA or MUFA intakes increase by 10 g, the probability of PCOS increase 1.7-fold and 2.5-fold, respectively. The consumption of foods with a medium GI raises the probability of PCOS by more than 3 times, after adjusting for age. The odds ratio decreased for the moderate and high PA at school/work and in leisure time. Further research in girls with PCOS is needed to test whether low GI and dietary fatty acid reduction combined with increased PA is effective in the nonpharmacological treatment and prevention of PCOS complications. ClinicalTrial.gov Identifier: NCT04738409.

Association of Macronutrients Composition, Physical Activity and Serum Androgen Concentration in Young Women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome

“…Although we did not observe any significant associations between serum androgens and fat consumption in PCOS girls in the present study, our previous data (obtained in the same study population) identified the high fat consumption, including SFA, MUFA and PUFA, as a strong predictor of PCOS, increasing the chance to be diagnosed with PCOS up to threefold [ 31 ]. These observations are not contradictory, given the complex and still not fully elucidated etiology of PCOS.…”

“…The anthropometric, physical activity and dietary patient characteristics were described in our previous publication (Tables 1 and 2 in [ 31 ]). The PCOS group differed significantly from the control group according to the A ( p = 0.000004), fT ( p = 0.00002), and tT serum concentration levels ( p = 0.00001).…”

“…The control group was recruited during the checkups in the Outpatient Clinic of the Department of Developmental Gynecology and Sexology, Poznań University of Medical Sciences. The anthropometric and metabolic parameters of the patients were described in [ 31 ]. This research was conducted in accordance with the Helsinki Declaration and approved by the Bioethics Committee of the Poznań University of Medical Sciences (approval no.…”

“…The evaluation of eating habits was performed by use of the current quotation method: 3-day food record, described previously [ 32 , 35 ]. The comparison of dietary patterns and selected macronutrients intake (saturated fatty acids (SFA), monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA), polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), cholesterol, total and plant protein, carbohydrates including fiber) in PCOS patients and healthy controls was presented elsewhere [ 31 ].…”

“…For work/schooltime PA, “low” means “over 70% of the time in a sitting position”, “moderate” means “approximately 50% of the time in a sitting position and about 50% of the time moving”, and “high” means “about 70% of the time in motion or doing physical work associated with much effort”. The method was fully described in [ 31 , 36 ].…”