Polycystic ovary syndrome impact on women's quality of life: pilot study

Abstract

Purpose: The aim of this study is to assess the impact of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) on Bulgarian patients’ QoL through a Polycystic Ovary Syndrome Questionnaire (PCOSQ). Methods: A pilot survey was conducted in a sample of individuals aged 15 to 35 (n=24) from Sofia, Bulgaria. Data were collected via PCOSQ. The PCOSQ scale was translated into Bulgarian and standardized by forward translation, backward translation, and a pre-test. Results: The mean age of the sample was 25.6 ± 6.4 (range 15-35). Results from the study found that women with PCOS had a lower appraisal of their appearance because of their weight. The lowest and the highest results were obtained for their mental and emotional status (q.18-1.92 and q.7-4.42). As a factor group-the lowest results were obtained for the questions concerning their overweight-all the 5 questions were in the range of 3.25-3.58. The highest result (-4.42) was reported for in factor group “emotions”. Conclusion: This pilot study found that the mean level of QoL is 3.7 on a scale of 1 to 7. The main problematic question associated with the disease is women’s overweight. The large variance in the levels of emotions of study subjects shows the need to explore this issue further in a larger cohort of patients. It can be concluded that the management of PCOS is urgently needed and the psychological health of these patients must be monitored regularly.