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Emotion-focused therapy, peer support, omega-3 plus vitamin E, and mindfulness stress management improve anxiety and depression outcomes in PCOS, while metformin and vitamin D + probiotics show no meaningful benefit.
Emotion-focused therapy and peer-support strategies are emerging as the most effective approaches for reducing anxiety and depression symptoms in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), according to a new network meta-analysis.
Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is growingly recognized as a condition that affects not only metabolic and reproductive health but also emotional well-being. Anxiety and depression frequently accompany PCOS, creating an additional psychological burden that can compromise quality of life (QoL) and long-term health outcomes. Zuolin Tan and the team carried out the research to compare and rank available interventions for improving anxiety and depressive symptoms among women with PCOS through a systematic review and Bayesian network meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs).
They explored databases like Web of Science, PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library. RCTs involving women diagnosed with PCOS were eligible if they evaluated interventions such as psychological therapies, exercise-based programs, pharmacologic treatments, or digital health strategies and reported outcomes related to anxiety or depression scores.
Two independent reviewers screened the studies and extracted relevant data, while disagreements were resolved through consultation with a third-party. Effect sizes were checked through standardized mean differences (SMD) within a random-effects framework. A Bayesian network meta-analysis was subsequently performed using R software and Just Another Gibbs Sampler (JAGS), and intervention rankings were determined using surface under the cumulative ranking curve (SUCRA) estimates.
The analysis incorporated 25 RCTs involving 1,453 women with PCOS.
Conversely, interventions including metformin and vitamin D combined with probiotics did not illustrate meaningful superiority over control measures. Investigators also noted that evidence related to peer-support interventions for anxiety could not be fully integrated into the network analysis because of limitations in trial connectivity.
The findings highlighted psychological and supportive care interventions as important therapeutic options for addressing mental health challenges in PCOS-affected women. Emotion-focused therapy and peer-support approaches appeared particularly promising in alleviating anxiety and depressive symptoms, while mindfulness-based strategies and targeted nutritional supplementation also demonstrated potential benefits. The study underscored the growing importance of integrating mental health management into comprehensive PCOS care models.
Brain, Cognition and Mental Health
A network meta-analysis of interventions for anxiety and depression in PCOS
Zuolin Tan et al.
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