PIH66 POLYCYSTIC OVARIAN SYNDROME (PCOS): A LITERATURE REVIEW OF THE POLYCYSTIC OVARY SYNDROME QUESTIONNAIRE (PCOSQ) FROM 2013-2018

Abstract

Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) is associated with hormonal disturbance and psychological consequences, resulting in reduced health-related quality of life (HRQoL). The Polycystic Ovary Syndrome Questionnaire (PCOSQ), the only validated PCOS specific patient reported outcome (PRO), was developed in 1998. This review looks at the use of PCOSQ in conjunction with other QoL instruments in recently published research. The literature search was performed on the following terms: PCOS, PCOSQ and HRQoL on research studies that were published from 2013 to 2018 in PubMed and Scopus. Only articles that utilized PCOSQ in research were used in this analysis. The search yielded 23 articles of which 6 included the PCOSQ as the primary PRO instrument. One study was cross-sectional and the other 5 were prospective. Additional PROs used in these studies included: Short Form-36 Health Survey (SF-36) and World Health Organization QoL Instruments (WHOQOL-BREF). The SF-36 was used in 5 studies, and the WHOQOL-BREF was used in 1 study. PCOSQ measures 6 domains including emotions, hirsutism, weight, infertility, and menstrual disorders. Patient reported PCOS symptoms frequently expressed but not captured by PCOSQ include domains covering pain, bleeding intensity and coping behaviors. The PCOSQ includes PCOS specific questions not included in general HRQoL instruments. Hirsutism and infertility are aspects of PCOS that exert negative impacts on HRQoL that would not easily be detected by general PRO instruments. Still, there are some aspects of PCOS that are not adequately assessed by the PCOSQ despite being well documented patient reported outcomes. In order to comprehensively assess patient reported PCOS outcomes and to overcome key HRQoL indicators not captured in the PCOSQ, the PCOSQ can be utilized alongside other general PRO instruments to obtain a more comprehensive patient view for assessing HRQoL.