Metformin treatment with or without life style changes in patients with polycystic ovary syndrome

Abstract

Treatment with metformin three times 500 mg daily had been advised since 2002, to patients suffering from the polycystic ovary syndrome diagnosed by the Rotterdam criteria and who did not want to take contraceptive pills. More recently, life style changes have also been introduced to treatment recommendation: increased physical activity, low glycaemic index diet; also with calorie restriction for the obese patients. To assess the efficacy of the two treatment forms on clinical symptoms of the disease. The metformin only historical control group (metformin monotherapy) consisted of 27 patients between the ages from 18 to 39 years (mean 29 years); to which was the age-matched metformin and life style changes group (triple basal therapy) of 29 patients compared. The following parameters were registered at the beginning and the end of a six-month treatment period: global acne score, Ferriman-Gallwey hirsutism score, body mass index, waist-to-hip circumference ratio, and menstrual cycles. By the end of the treatment period, both acne and hirsutism scores improved significantly in both treatment groups (P<0.001); the improvements did not differ between them: acne 8.6±5.7 vs. 9.2±5.9 (P = 0.70); hirsutism 2.5±2.0 vs. 2.6±1.6 (P = 0.83). Body mass index and waist-to-hip ratio remained practically unchanged in the metformin only group: 0.26±1.0 kg/m2 (P = 0.21) and 0.001±0.02 (P = 0.71). Body mass index decreased in the triple therapy group by 0.91±1.1 kg/m2 (P<0.001); and waist-to-hip ratio by 0.019±0.03 (P<0.001). The decrease of the body mass index was more remarkable in overweight patients: 1.10±1.26 kg/m2 (P = 0.002) vs. 0.64±0.88 kg/m2 (P = 0.03) in lean patients. Recommendation on life style changes with metformin did not show further improvement of hyperandrogenic symptoms in comparison to metformin alone but the combined therapy diminished body size indexes. Authors recommend the triple basal treatment consisting of metformin, physical exercise and low glycaemic index diet to their patients with polycystic ovary syndrome for assessment of its long-term efficacy.