Oral Presentation ESA-SRB-AOTA 2019

Psychiatric comorbidities in women with polycystic ovary syndrome. (#254)

Chau Thien Tay 1 2 , Helena Teede 1 2 , Deborah Loxton 3 , Jayashri Kulkarni 4 , Anju Joham 1 2
  1. Monash Centre for Health Research and Implementation, Clayton, VIC, Australia
  2. Department of Diabetes and Vascular Medicine, Monash Health, Clayton, VIC, Australia
  3. Research Centre for Generational Health and Ageing, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, New South Wales, Australia
  4. The Monash Alfred Psychiatry Research Centre, Monash University and The Alfred Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Background: PCOS is associated with increased risk for depression and anxiety but its association with other psychiatric disorders is less clear. We aimed to investigate the prevalence of psychiatric disorders in women with PCOS, clarify the relationship between PCOS and psychiatric disorders and identify important correlates of psychiatric disorders in women with PCOS.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in the cohort of community-recruited women born 1989-95 from the Australian Longitudinal Study of Women’s Health (ALSWH). Survey data was collected online in 2015. 760 and 7910 women with and without self-reported PCOS were included. The main outcomes were self-reported psychiatric diagnoses including depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, bipolar affective disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, borderline personality disorder and others. The main explanatory variables examined was self-reported PCOS status. Other factors examined included adverse childhood events, social support, perceived stress, sociodemographic and lifestyle factors. χ2 tests were used to examine the differences in prevalence between groups. Logistic regression analyses were performed to assess factors associated with psychiatric disorders and the relationship between PCOS and psychiatric disorders.

Results: Compared to women not reporting PCOS, women reporting PCOS had significantly higher prevalence of anxiety (44.7 % vs 32.3%), depression (53.2% vs 37.1%), post-traumatic stress disorder (11.7% vs 5.5%), bipolar affective disorder (3.4% vs 2.2%), obsessive compulsive disorder (6.3% vs 3.0%) and borderline personality disorder (6.8% vs 2.7%). Adjusted analyses showed that self-reported PCOS was significantly associated with increased odds for all these psychiatric disorders. Adverse childhood experience was the strongest factors associated with psychiatric disorders (ACES ≥4: adjusted OR 2.9, 95% CI 2.4-3.5) and this is much more commonly reported in women with PCOS.

Conclusions: Women with PCOS have high prevalence of psychiatric comorbidities other than anxiety and depression which require consideration. An assessment of psychological wellbeing in women with PCOS is warranted.