Prevalence of depression and quality of life in polycystic ovary syndrome patients at a tertiary care hospital: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

Background: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is one of the most common endocrinopathy among women of reproductive age. Physical symptoms in PCOS cause depression and decrease the Quality of Life (QoL). The objective was to study the prevalence of depression in women suffering from PCOS and to assess its correlation with QoL.Methods: This was a cross sectional study conducted among one hundred patients diagnosed with PCOS. Women 18-40 years of age diagnosed with PCOS were included in the study. Patients with known psychiatric illness were excluded. Depression severity was assessed with Hamilton depression (HAM-D) scale. The quality of life (QoL) was assessed with Polycystic ovary syndrome questionnaire (PCOSQ). The data was analyzed using SPSS 20.0 for Windows.Results: The mean age and BMI was 25.64±3.25 years and 26.78±2.72 kg/m2 respectively. The mean depression score was 12.46±6.18. QoL domains showed that the lowest score was in the menstrual problem with a mean of 12.48±4.44 and the highest was in the emotional domain with a mean of 28.07±11.17. The negative correlations were between age and Hamilton score (p < 0.05). The Hamilton score was negatively correlated with the emotional score (p <0.01) and weight score was positively correlated with infertility score (p <0.01).Conclusions: PCOS was clearly associated with depression and reduced QoL. This should warrant health professionals to consider routine screening for depression and assess the impact of symptoms on their QoL to improve patient outcomes.