Material and Methods:
This case control study was conducted at Jinnah postgraduate medical center in alliance with Aga Khan University, Karachi. Ethical clearance was taken from the institutional review committee (NO.F.2-81-IRB/2017-GENL/418/JPMC). The study period was n year after ethical clearance from 2017 to 2018. A minimum sample size of 80 women was mandatory to achieve a power of 90 and an alpha of 5%, with a prevalence of PCOS as 15% in local population. Eighty subjects gave a permission and participated in this study. The inclusion criteria for cases was females of reproductive age group established as PCO per Rotterdam criteria. Rotterdam criteria for PCOS diagnosis states that a woman may present with any 2 out of 3 conditions: Anovulation, hirsutism or less commonly male pattern alopecia or raised free testosterone, or polycystic ovaries on ultrasound (when 10 small antral follicles are seen in each ovary).4 Absence of the aforementioned states was deliberated to be inclusion for the normal control subjects.
Study partakers were divided into two groups:
Group A: PCO group included individuals with diagnosed polycystic phenotypes n=60
ii) Group B: Control group included individuals without any PCO phenotypes n=20.
The PCOS patients and healthy controls were evaluated on questionnaire for body image perception and depression. Body dissatisfaction was measured using the validated Body Esteem Scale19. Depression symptoms were measured with the Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology-Self Report 16.20.
Subjects with any systemic diseases like atherosclerosis, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and any other reproductive disorders such as congenital adrenal hyperplasia, androgen secreting tumors, Cushing syndrome, thyroid dysfunction and hyper prolactinaemia were excluded from this study. After obtaining written and informed consent from the subjects, their biophysical parameters were measured.
Statistical software SPSS version 21.0 was used for data feeding and analysis. Comparison between groups was made by using Chi square test. A descriptive statistical analysis of continuous variables was performed. Data on continuous variables i.e., biophysical (age, height, weight, BMI, etc.) were presented as Mean ± standard deviation (SD). Data on continuous variables i.e. biophysical (age, height, weight, BMI, etc.) was also collected. Univariate analysis was also performed to assess the Odds ratio. In cases when it was not possible with a zero-cell count, we added a small value like 0.5 to each cell and calculated Odds ratio again by using Haldane’s Anscombe correction by using online open Epi odds ratio calculator version 3.