Women with PCOS at risk for emotional, uncontrolled eating in midlife

Women with PCOS at risk for emotional, uncontrolled eating in midlife

October 31, 2024

2 min read


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Key takeaways:

  • Women with vs. without PCOS had higher emotional and uncontrolled eating scores.
  • Overweight perceptions predicted emotional eating and weight-loss attempt history predicted uncontrolled eating for PCOS.

Women with vs. without polycystic ovary syndrome have a higher risk for emotional and uncontrolled eating behaviors at midlife, with contrasts observed among different phenotypes, according to findings published in Fertility and Sterility.

In an analysis of more than 1,100 women with and without PCOS at midlife, researchers also found that a history of multiple weight-loss attempts and a perception of being overweight were independently associated with unfavorable eating behaviors among women with PCOS, suggesting more counseling is needed.



Woman experiencing menopause

Women with vs. without PCOS had higher emotional and uncontrolled eating scores. Image: Adobe Stock

“Weight-sensitive talk and questions related to eating behavior should be systematic when seeing women with PCOS,” Terhi T. Piltonen, MD, PhD, professor and chief physician in the department of obstetrics and gynecology in the reproductive endocrinology and IVF unit at the Medical Research Centre at Oulu University Hospital in Finland, told Healio. “This may also affect treatment strategies.”

Terhi T. Piltonen

Piltonen and colleagues conducted a prospective cohort study using data from the general population-based Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1966. Researchers compared 251 women with PCOS at age 31 years with 935 women without PCOS. All women completed the revised Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire at age 46 years.

Researchers evaluated associations between PCOS, BMI, history of weight-loss attempts, perceptions of being overweight and psychological distress with eating behavior domains in the questionnaire.

Of women with PCOS, 60 had the hyperandrogenism and oligomenorrhea phenotype with or without elevated anti-Müllerian hormone, 84 had the hyperandrogenism and elevated anti-Müllerian hormone phenotype and 86 had the oligomenorrhea and elevated anti-Müllerian hormone phenotype.

Women with PCOS had higher emotional eating scores (39 vs. 33.1; P = .005) and uncontrolled eating (30.7 vs. 26.7; P = .003) scores compared with women without. However, researchers observed no difference in cognitive restraint at age 46 years between women with and without PCOS.

Women with the hyperandrogenism and oligomenorrhea phenotype with or without elevated anti-Müllerian hormone had higher emotional and uncontrolled eating scores compared with women without PCOS. Women with the hyperandrogenism and elevated anti-Müllerian hormone phenotype had higher uncontrolled eating scores compared with women without PCOS and women with the oligomenorrhea and elevated anti-Müllerian hormone phenotype.

For women with PCOS aged 46 years, perception of overweight status was an independent predictor for emotional eating (P = .008) and history of weight-loss attempts was a predictor of uncontrolled eating (P = .015).

Higher psychological distress at age 31 years was associated with emotional eating scores (adjusted OR = 2.85; 95% CI, 1.19-6.85) and uncontrolled eating scores (aOR = 4.37; 95% CI, 1.77-10.8) in the highest quartile at age 46 years for women with PCOS. In addition, women with PCOS and a BMI of 25 kg/m2 or more at age 31 and 46 years had significantly higher risk for emotional eating scores in the highest quartile at age 46 years vs. women with a BMI lower than 25 kg/m2 at age 31 and 46 years (aOR = 4.49; 95% CI, 1.36-14.9).

“Weight-sensitive talk and awareness of this long-term trait in PCOS should be acknowledged with the health professionals attending these women,” Piltonen told Healio.

For more information:

Terhi T. Piltonen, MD, PhD, can be reached at [email protected].

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