Evaluation of diet quality, insulin resistance, and quality of life in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)

The aim of this study is to evaluate the diet quality, insulin resistance incidence and quality of life of women with PCOS. The study included 37 patient groups (PG) and 37 control groups (CG), aged 19-40 years, diagnosed with PCOS according to the Rotterdam criteria. A questionnaire was used to collect data, which included health information, general information, physical activity status, anthropometric measurements, biochemical findings, nutritional habits, 24-hour retrospective food consumption record and food consumption frequency information for PG and CG. In addition, the PCOSQ-50 scale was applied to PG to measure their quality of life. Diet quality was calculated according to HEI-15. Body weight, BMI values, body fat percentages, waist/hip ratios, waist circumferences and waist/height ratios of women with PCOS were found to be significantly higher than women in the CG (p>0.05). While the mean BMI values of individuals in CG were 22.61±4.06 kg/m2, it was calculated as 26.87±6.55 kg/m2 in individuals in PG. In %13.5 of the individuals in the CG; insulin resistance was found in 45.9% of individuals with PCOS. The mean HOMA-IR value of the PCOS group was 2.79±2.06, and 1.86±0.72 for the CG. A negative relationship was observed between insulin resistance, diet quality and quality of life. There was no significant difference between the energy and macronutrients taken by the participants in the study (p>0.05). The mean total diet quality score was calculated as 59.59±11.40 in the PCOS group and 69.54±1.038 in the CG. The diet quality of the CG was significantly higher than the PCOS group (p=0.001). It was determined that the consumption of whole fruit, total fruit, legumes, milk and dairy products, vegetable proteins, refined grains and added sugars of the women in the CG was significantly higher than the PCOS group (p<0.05). The total quality of life score of people with PCOS was found to be 152.64±38.91. It has been observed that the conditions that most negatively affect the quality of life of individuals are hirsutism, obesity and menstrual disorders. In this study, it was determined that diet therapy should be applied as first-line treatment in women with PCOS. Individuals should be directed to a dietitian at the time of diagnosis.