Comparison of physical activity levels and dietary habits between women with polycystic ovarian syndrome and healthy controls of reproductive age: A case-control study

Abstract

AbstractBackground Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) is a reproductive hormonal anomaly prevalent among reproductive-aged women, with an alarmingly high prevalence of 52% among Pakistani women. This study aims to compare the daily physical activity and dietary habits of PCOS women with age-matched healthy controls living in Lahore, Pakistan. Methods A case-control study design was used to collect data from a private hospital situated in Lahore, Pakistan. Data were collected from 115 participants of the reproductive age group (18–45 years). Demographic variables, reproductive characteristics, anthropometric measurements, and 7 days of physical activity levels using the international physical activity questionnaire (IPAQ-Short version) and 7 days of food frequency questionnaire (7 days-FFQ) were used to measure the dietary habits of the participants. Mosby’s Nutritac v4.0 software was used to estimate the macronutrients, vitamins, and minerals present in diet intake. The glycemic index and glycemic load were calculated to compare the quality and quantity of carbohydrate consumption between the two groups. Results The 49 newly identified PCOS cases using Rotterdam criteria aged 24.63 years (SD ± 4.76) and 66 healthy controls aged 23.24 years (SD ± 5.45) were compared. A significant difference (p ≤ 0.05) was found for reproductive characteristics, daily physical activity, polyunsaturated fat, and vitamin intake between the two groups. Binary logistic regression analysis showed that food with a low glycemic index (GI ≤ 40) reduced the odds of PCOS occurrence by OR = 1.94. Similarly, food nutrients with a low glycemic load (GL ≤ 10) can lower PCOS occurrence by OR = 1.60. Conclusion The daily physical activity levels and dietary habits of reproductive-aged women can influence their reproductive characteristics and polycystic ovarian morphology. A diet with a low glycemic load and index can produce beneficial reproductive health effects among reproductive-aged women.