title: Quality of life in overweight (obese) and normal-weight women with polycystic ovary syndrome.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is characterized by phenotypic heterogeneity and has a wide variety of consequences. Approximately half of women with PCOS are overweight or obese, and their obesity may be a contributing factor to PCOS pathogenesis through different mechanisms. The aim of this study was to evaluate if PCOS alone affects the patients' quality of life and to what extent obesity contributes to worsen this disease.
  
  
  METHODS
  To evaluate the impact of PCOS on health-related quality-of-life (HRQoL), 100 Mediterranean women with PCOS (group A), 50 with a body mass index (BMI) >25 kg/m2(group A1) and 50 with BMI <25 kg/m2(group A2), were recruited. They were evaluated with a specific combination of standardized psychometric questionnaires: the Symptom Checklist-90 Revised, the 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey, and the Polycystic Ovary Syndrome Questionnaire. The patients were compared with a normal-weight healthy control group of 40 subjects (group B). Another control group of 40 obese healthy women (group C) was used to make a comparison with PCOS obese patients (A1).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Our results showed a considerable worsening of HRQoL in PCOS patients (A) compared with controls (B). In addition, patients with PCOS and BMI >25 (A1) showed a significant and more marked reduction in scores, suggesting a lower quality of life, compared with controls (B) and with normal-weight PCOS patients (A2).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  PCOS is a complex disease that alone determines a deterioration of HRQoL. The innovative use of these psychometric questionnaires in this study, in particular the PCOS questionnaire, has highlighted that obesity has a negative effect on HRQoL. It follows that a weight decrease is associated to phenotypic spectrum improvement and relative decrement in psychological distress.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Medicine and Surgery, University of Napoli Federico II, Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Annalisa
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Panico
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Foggia, Foggia, Italy; Department of Experimental Medicine, Second University of Naples, Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Messina
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Medicine and Surgery, University of Napoli Federico II, Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Gelsy Arianna
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Lupoli
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Medicine and Surgery, University of Napoli Federico II, Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Roberta
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lupoli
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Medicine and Surgery, University of Napoli Federico II, Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Marianna
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cacciapuoti
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Foggia, Foggia, Italy.
authors.forename: Fiorenzo
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Moscatelli
authors.affiliation: Department of Experimental Medicine, Second University of Naples, Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Teresa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Esposito
authors.affiliation: Department of Experimental Medicine, Second University of Naples, Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Ines
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Villano
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Foggia, Foggia, Italy.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Valenzano
authors.affiliation: Department of Experimental Medicine, Second University of Naples, Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Vincenzo
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Monda
authors.affiliation: Department of Experimental Medicine, Second University of Naples, Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Antonietta
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Messina
authors.affiliation: Department of Mental and Physical Health, and Preventive Medicine, Child and Adolescent Neuropsychiatry Unit, Second University of Naples, Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Precenzano
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Foggia, Foggia, Italy.
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Cibelli
authors.affiliation: Department of Experimental Medicine, Second University of Naples, Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Marcellino
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Monda
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Medicine and Surgery, University of Napoli Federico II, Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lupoli
keywords: health-related quality-of-life; normal-weight; obesity; polycystic ovary syndrome; psychological disturbances