Nutritional status and food consumption of patients with of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome

Abstract

The present study aims at characterizing the nutritional status and food intake of patients with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS). It is a cross-sectional study performed in patients with PCOStreated in secondary health care service by nutrition specialists.socio-demographic information, health profile, anthropometric measurements, biochemical and food intake data were obtained. The study included 54 women with an average age of 31.31 ±5.76 years: 63% were classified as obese at different levels; 74.1% presented cardiovascular risk according to waist-hip ratio, and 90.8% an increased waist circumference. Correlations between insulin resistance, measured by HOMA-IR index, and body mass index (r = 0.729, p = 0.028) were observed. Evaluation of nutritional intake revealed an insufficient amount of calories (73.6%), carbohydrates (54.7%), and micronutrients (calcium, 96.2%; iron, 98.1%). However 71.7% presented an excessive intake of lipids.There was no association between nutritional status, biochemical parameters and food intake (p> 0.05). PCOS patients present a high prevalence of obesity and nutritional inadequacies. Therefore, nutritional intervention strategies constitute important tools as a non-pharmacological treatment.