Oral contraceptives (OCs) in combination with metformin versus OCs alone on metabolism in nonobese polycystic ovary syndrome: A meta-analysis and systematic review of randomized controlled trials

Abstract

Background: To compare OCs(oral contraceptives) + metformin and OCs alone for metabolic effects in nonobese polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) patients. Methods: The search was performed in PubMed, EMBASE, the Cochrane Library and clinicaltrials.gov for all published studies up to 30 April 2022 and was limited to English-language articles. All randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing OCs + metformin and OCs alone for reproductive-age women with PCOS were included. Data were processed using Revman 5.3 software. Results: Of 396 studies identified, 14 RCTs were included for analysis comprising 707 women. OCs+metformin significantly modified fasting glucose (MD = −0.21 [95% confidence interval (CI) = −0.31, −0.12], p