Comparing Anxiety, Depression, Stress, Eating Behaviour, and Health Promotion in PCOS and Non-PCOS Individuals

Abstract

According to the World Health Organization 8- 13 % of the women all around the world have PCOS. The physiological effect of PCOS is well known ranging from irregular menstrual cycles to polycystic ovaries, obesity, and hyperandrogenism. However, what gets ignored is the psychological effects and impact of the disease. Studies have shown that individuals with PCOS may experience higher levels of anxiety, depression, and stress compared to those without PCOS. The purpose of the study was to measure and compare the psychological impacts of PCOS mainly focusing on anxiety, depression, stress and eating behaviours with the help of a cross-sectional comparative study. Survey method was used to collect data from 200 participants (100 with PCOS and 100 without PCOS) , using standardized questionnaires such as the Anxiety, Depression Stress Scale by Pallavi Bhatnagar, The Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire by WHO and the Health Promoting Lifestyle Profile. The results indicated that there is a strong correlation between PCOS and psychological impacts, including higher levels of anxiety, depression, and stress. People with PCOS also have higher disrupted eating patterns . The research also aimed to analyse the levels of health promoting lifestyle in people with PCOS and its effects on the psychological factors. This concluded that there is a strong negative correlation between health promoting lifestyle and psychological impacts in individuals with PCOS. On comparing the said variable between the two groups (PCOS and Non PCOS) people with PCOS showed significantly higher levels of anxiety, depression, stress, maladaptive eating behaviours, compared to those without PCOS. No significant differences were found in health promoting lifestyle between the two groups but the findings suggest that people with PCOS had lower levels of health promoting lifestyle as compared to the other group.