Psychiatric illness may go undetected in a proportion of PCOS patients

KatCarney · 02-18-2006, 03:37 PM

Hum Reprod. 2006 Feb 3
Determinants of emotional distress in women with polycystic ovary syndrome.

Elsenbruch S, Benson S, Hahn S, Tan S, Mann K, Pleger K, Kimmig R, Janssen OE. Department of Medical Psychology, Bochum, Germany.

CONCLUSIONS: Psychiatric illness may go undetected in a proportion of PCOS patients. Although the majority of patients exhibit subclinical levels of psychological disturbances, emotional distress together with obesity lead to large decrements in quality of life in PCOS.

BACKGROUND: The goals were to analyse the incidence of mental distress in women with untreated polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) using self-report measures, to characterize PCOS patients at risk for psychiatric disease with regard to sociodemographic and clinical characteristics, and to assess the impact of emotional distress on quality of life.

METHODS AND RESULTS: Complete metabolic, hormonal, clinical and self-report psychological data [emotional distress, Symptom Check List 90 (SCL-90-R); quality of life, Short-Form Health Survey 36 (SF-36); sexual satisfaction, visual analogue scales; sociodemographic data] were obtained from n = 143 untreated women with PCOS. Prior psychiatric diagnoses were exclusionary. Twenty-two patients (15.4%) had a possible psychological disorder, based on SCL-90-R global severity index (GSI) scores >/=63 (SCL cases). SCL cases had significantly elevated body mass index (BMI), but did not differ from SCL non-cases in other clinical, endocrine, metabolic or sociodemographic variables. Stepwise multiple regression analyses identified GSI as a significant predictor of SF-36 Psychological Sum score, along with age and current wish to conceive (R(2) = 0.47); the SF-36 Physical Sum score was predicted by BMI and education (R(2) = 0.27), but not GSI.

StarMaiden · 02-18-2006, 05:20 PM

Dontcha just love it when they do research and pompously tell us something WE all knew!

I shouldn't be sarcastic. Science equals attention, and attention to PCOS equals progress!

06-14-2006, 06:29 PM

God I could have wrote that myself with how I feel right now...

flubby · 11-24-2006, 09:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KatCarney

Hum Reprod. 2006 Feb 3
[b]

CONCLUSIONS: Psychiatric illness may go undetected in a proportion of PCOS patients. Although the majority of patients exhibit subclinical levels of psychological disturbances, emotional distress together with obesity lead to large decrements in quality of life in PCOS.

I have had treatment for depression on and off for 15 years. I no longer take any anti-depressants as I believe my depression is rational not irrational. No one would be gloriously happy in the body I have

I think it is very important for us to look at why we feel depressed and consider that possibly we have a right to feel this way. Taking tablets and waiting for some huge change in how we feel might not be the best way. I tell myself I am fully intitled to be miserable and unable to leave the house considering clothes don't fit me properly, I have a beard, I am balding and I can gain huge amounts of weight over night. But it is also up to me how much of a life I want to live.
Now I no longer think of myself as depressed I do a lot more. Somehow not accepting the depressed label has given me back most of self respect. I know that once I manage to balls it out and just go out there, there is nothing else wrong with me that can stop me interacting with the world.

I feel very angry that women are told they are overreacting to "cosmetic" issues. It is very hard to live in a body that doesn't always respond. And I am glad that the medical community is looking into the deeper effects of PCOS but I worry that women may give themselves another label that makes it even harder for them to live the life they deserve.

I appreciate that feeling terrible about your self over a long period of time can trigger actual depression though, and I am not advising everyone flush their medication!
Its just I wasn't depressed I was just fed up with my body.

Betwixt · 11-25-2007, 11:12 AM

Quote:

"I think it is very important for us to look at why we feel depressed and consider that possibly we have a right to feel this way. Taking tablets and waiting for some huge change in how we feel might not be the best way."

Amen. I look at my life and I've even told my shrinks- Who WOULDN'T be struggling with depression?? Are you serious? That said, I think we need help getting over those rough spots. Medication or otherwise. The merry-go-round of symptoms just blows.

ubik · 04-18-2008, 11:54 PM

my doctor said that taking metformin and being on bc would help with depression and mood swings. i'm not sure if they are helping and its just my life thats depressing. but i agree that its a little hard not to be depressed when my body and mind seem to be working against me.

soulfulqween · 04-19-2008, 12:15 AM

duh...I could have told them that.

I'm happy for the research though. At least it is getting attention.

I wished they would have mentioned which mental health disorders though.

Depression, anxiety...ok what about eating disorders, cutting, bipolar?

It would be interesting to see which were from chemical imbalances and which were from circumstances alone.

ChrissyJo · 04-23-2008, 01:54 AM

I just wish when I went to the doctor they would forget the fact that PCOS means infertility and look at it as PCOS means I hurt and am sick and these damn little pills are not doing the trick.
Diet and exercise are wonderful! But really, when I feel so worthless or sick to my stomach with anxiety how am I supposed to to walk a mile and turn to my stack of carrots.

I am a real person living with a REAl disability and all my doctors care about is I cannot concieve. Well if I cannot convice myself to get ut of bed how could i care for a baby?