The Association of a Mediterranean-Style Diet Pattern with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome Status in a Community Cohort Study.

Lisa Moran,Helena Teede,Gita Mishra,Jessica Grieger

doi:10.3390/nu7105419

Abstract

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common condition in reproductive-aged women. While lifestyle management is first-line treatment in PCOS, the dietary intake of women with PCOS is unclear and there is no research assessing dietary patterns of women with and without PCOS. The aim of this study was to examine dietary patterns in a large cohort of women with and without PCOS. Data were from 7569 participants in the 1973–1978 cohort of the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health population assessed at 2009 (Survey 5) (n = 414 PCOS, n = 7155 non-PCOS). Dietary patterns were evaluated using factor analysis and multiple logistic regressions assessed their associations with PCOS status. Three dietary patterns were identified that explained 27% of the variance in food intake between women with and without PCOS: Non-core foods; Meats and take-away and Mediterranean-style. The Mediterranean-style dietary pattern was independently associated with PCOS status. On adjusted analysis for each 1 SD increase in the Mediterranean-style dietary pattern, there was a 26% greater likelihood that women had PCOS. This may indicate an improvement in the quality of dietary intake following a diagnosis of PCOS. Future research should examine the contribution of dietary patterns to the incidence and severity of PCOS and the potential for modification of dietary patterns in the lifestyle management of PCOS.

Highlights

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common endocrine condition affecting 12%–18% of reproductive-aged women [1]
The Mediterranean-style dietary pattern contains a number of foods similar to a Mediterranean diet which consists of fish, monounsaturated fats from olive oil, fruits, vegetables, wholegrains, legumes and nuts and moderate alcohol consumption [43]
We report for the first time the independent association of PCOS status with self-reported dietary patterns, a Mediterranean diet pattern

Summary

Introduction

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common endocrine condition affecting 12%–18% of reproductive-aged women [1]. It is associated with reproductive (hyperandrogenism, anovulation, menstrual irregularly, infertility and pregnancy complications) [2], metabolic (increased risk factors for and prevalence of impaired glucose tolerance, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease) [3,4,5] and psychological (worsened quality of life and increased risk factors for depression and anxiety) [6] features. Due to the key aetiological role of obesity and insulin resistance in PCOS, weight management, defined as prevention of excess weight gain or achieving and maintaining a modest weight loss, is a key treatment strategy in PCOS. Evidence based guidelines recommend achieving this through a combination of diet, exercise or behavioural management [12]

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