Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), a hormone imbalance that causes infertility, obesity, and excessive facial hair in women, can also lead to severe mental health issues including anxiety, depression, and eating disorders.
A study supervised by Columbia University School of Nursing professor Nancy Reame, MSN, PhD, FAAN, and published in the Journal of Behavioral Health Services & Research, identifies the PCOS complications that may be most responsible for psychiatric problems. While weight gain and unwanted body hair can be distressing, irregular ...
Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), a hormone imbalance that causes infertility, obesity, and excessive facial hair in women, can also lead to severe mental health issues including anxiety, depression, and eating disorders.
A study supervised by Columbia University School of Nursing professor Nancy Reame, MSN, PhD, FAAN, and published in the Journal of Behavioral Health Services & Research, identifies the PCOS complications that may be most responsible for psychiatric problems. While weight gain and unwanted body hair can be distressing, irregular menstrual cycles is the symptom of PCOS most strongly associated with psychiatric problems, the study found.
Menstrual abnormalities in women with PCOS was the strongest predictor for mental health issues, particularly when there are so many other symptoms—like beard growth and infertility—that can make a woman feel unfeminine.
Women with PCOS had significantly higher levels of psychological distress than the general population. For more than half of those disorders, the women with PCOS had distress levels statistically similar to those of the female psychiatric patients.
Reame et al. 2014 found that when comparing participants with women in the general population, PCOS women had significantly higher scores on all of the symptoms evaluated and on corresponding psychological distress measures, particularly for anxiety, depression, somatization (the conversion of psychological distress to physical symptoms), and interpersonal sensitivity.
PCOS is estimated to affect 6 to 17 million women aged 18–44 in the U.S. It is one of the most common causes of infertility. There’s no single test to diagnose PCOS, and there’s no cure. The disorder is typically characterized by an excess production of the hormone testosterone, irregular ovulation, and cysts, or fluid-filled sacs, in the ovaries.
How to improve psychological and physical well-being?
-Acknowledging the challenges both the psychological and physical ones.
-Speak with an expert, to relive tension and stress.
-Changing habits can improve symptomatology.
-Exercise improves general, but particularly mental well-being.
-Diet and exercise in combination can boost your body-mind balance and improve symptomatology.
-Seek support for infertility. The earlier the better.
-Talk to other women in the same position and get support from likeminded women, facing similar challenge.
Sources: https://www.nursing.columbia.edu/news/psychiatric-complications-women-polycystic-ovary-syndrome-most-often-linked-menstrual
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PCOS and infertility challenges part 2
Having PCOS does not mean you can't get pregnant. PCOS is one of the most common, but treatable, causes of infertility in women. In women with PCOS, the hormonal imbalance interferes with the growth and release of eggs from the ovaries (ovulation). Without ovulation, it isn’t possible to get pregnant.
How to get treatment for infertility related to PCOS?
Talk to a fertility doctor about ways to help you ovulate and raise your chance of getting pregnant. You can also use an ovulation calculator to see which days in your menstrual cycle you are most likely to be fertile.
Treatments of PCOS to improve fertility
- Losing weight. If you have overweight or obesity, losing weight through healthy eating and regular physical activity can help make your menstrual cycle more regular and improve your fertility. Find a personalized healthy eating plan.
- Medicine. After ruling out other causes of infertility in you and your partner, your doctor might prescribe medicine to help you ovulate, such as clomiphene (Clomid).
- In vitro fertilization (IVF). IVF may be an option if medicine does not work. In IVF, your egg is fertilized with your partner's sperm in a laboratory and then placed in your uterus to implant and develop. Compared to medicine alone, IVF has higher pregnancy rates and better control over your risk of having twins and triplets (by allowing your doctor to transfer a single fertilized egg into your uterus).
- Surgery. Surgery is also an option, usually only if the other options do not work. The outer shell (called the cortex) of ovaries is thickened in women with PCOS and thought to play a role in preventing spontaneous ovulation. Ovarian drilling is a surgery in which the doctor makes a few holes in the surface of your ovary using lasers or a fine needle heated with electricity. Surgery usually restores ovulation, but only for 6 to 8 months.
PCOS and pregnancy complications
PCOS can cause problems during pregnancy for you and for your baby. Women with PCOS have higher rates of 6:
- Miscarriage
- Gestational diabetes
- Preeclampsia
- Cesarean section (C-section)
- Higher risk of a heavy baby (macrosomia) and of spending more time in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).
Sources: https://www.womenshealth.gov/a-z-topics/polycystic-ovary-syndrome#:~:text=Having%20PCOS%20does%20not%20mean,you%20can't%20get%20pregnant.
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