Psychosocial Factors Associated with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome: a Case Control Study

Introduction: polycystic ovary syndrome (pcos) is a disorder in women of reproductive age. psychosocial factors can play a role in pcos. methods: to determine the psychosocial factors associated with pcos in a case control study, 742 pcos cases were compared to 798 women without pcos for psychiatric disorders and social conditions. the data were collected using a validated questionnaire of the minnesota multiphasic personality inventory (mmpi). the primary care evaluation of mental disorders. patient health questionnaire (dsm-iv) was used to diagnose major psychopathological disorders and other depressive and anxiety syndromes. the suspected psychopathology was evaluated by a clinical psychiatrist. results: there was a significant difference between cases and controls in education level (71.8% vs. 80.4%; (p<0.001), and employment status (60% vs. 53%; p=0.01) (respectively). chronic anxiety (35.7% vs. 26.8%; p<0.001), depression (18.9% vs. 7.9 %; p<0.001), anxiety disorders (7.7% vs. 3.3%; p<0.001), and personality disorders (2.9% vs. 1.7%; p=0.01), were higher in the pcos patients compared controls, respectively.conclusion: the results showed that chronic anxiety and depression were the most pscycologic pattern in pco patients. lower educational level and unemployment were higher in the cases than controls.