Health-related Quality of life of non-obese women with polycystic ovary syndrome treated with D-Chiro-Inositol: The case series study

Abstract

Background: Myo- or D-chiro-inositol (DCI) therapy can be used in PCOS as monotherapy or as a combination with other treatment modalities. Interestingly, since the treatment with DCI or similar could be effective in unknown level, often usage of inositol could be connected with psychological consequences, especially regarding the quality of life. We hypothesized that quality of life is changed in women with PCOS, and the DCI treatment could affect some aspects of life, even as a placebo. The main aim of this qualitative research designed as case series was to explore health‐related quality of life (HRQoL) among non-obese women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) before and after DCI treatment Results: In our study, item’s score related to menstrual problems and emotions differed the most, so we can observe that the use of DCI had the greatest impact on the intensity of menstrual problems. Also, the feelings related to changes in body weight of the participants also differed after a three-month period, which does not have to be a consequence of the applied supplementation, because we know that there was no change in body weight. Namely, a statistically significant difference was observed in the occurrence of menstrual problems before and after three months of treatment with DCI, while there were no changes in other domains of HRQoL. Interestingly, supplementation led to the alleviation of menstrual problems in most subjects which could not be a placebo effect of DCI. Conclusion: Overall, PCOS has a negative impact on the HRQoL of women in reproductive period. Weight, hirsutism, infertility and menstrual problems appeared to be most affected rather than areas of physical functioning. Definitely, all HRQoL measurements taken before DCI treatment were worse in comparison with the status after treatment in the same group of women with PCOS.