Women with polycystic ovary syndrome are often depressed or anxious—A case control study

Månsson, Mattias; Holte, Jan; Landin-Wilhelmsen, Kerstin; Dahlgren, Eva; Johansson, Anette; Landén, Mikael

doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2008.06.003

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Volume 33, Issue 8 , Pages 1132-1138, September 2008

Women with polycystic ovary syndrome are often depressed or anxious—A case control study

Mattias Månsson
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
- Corresponding author at: Karolinska Institutet, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Section of Psychiatry S:t Göran, SE-112 81, Stockholm, Sweden. Tel.: +46 8 51770221; fax: +46 8 303706.
Jan Holte
- Carl von Linné Clinic, Uppsala, Sweden
Kerstin Landin-Wilhelmsen
- Department of Medicine, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Göteborg, Sweden
Eva Dahlgren
- Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Göteborg, Sweden
Anette Johansson
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
Mikael Landén
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden

Received 14 April 2008; received in revised form 4 June 2008; accepted 5 June 2008.

Summary

Objective

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common hyperandrogenic endocrine disorder affecting women of fertile age. The aim of this study was to survey whether the rate of clinical psychiatric disorders in PCOS differs from the normal population.

Method

Women with PCOS (n=49) meeting the Rotterdam criteria for PCOS, and 49 age-matched controls identified from the population registry, were recruited. Trained clinicians used the MINI International Neuropsychiatric Interview to establish lifetime occurrence of Axis I DSM diagnoses. Serum-testosterone and sex hormone binding globulin were analyzed.

Results

Women with PCOS had higher lifetime incidence of depressive episodes, social phobia, and eating disorders than controls. Suicide attempts were seven times more common in the PCOS group than in the controls. Current as well as lifetime use of antidepressants and anxiolytic drugs were more common in the PCOS group.

Conclusions

Previous studies have found that PCOS is associated with decreased quality of life and self-rated mental symptoms. This study demonstrates that PCOS is also linked to psychiatric syndromes as verified by structured clinical assessments. The clinical implication of this study is that clinicians treating women with PCOS should be aware that these women are a high risk group for common affective and anxiety disorders as well as suicide attempts.

Keywords: Hyperandrogenism, Depressive disorder, Anxiety disorder, Polycystic ovary syndrome, Eating disorder, Attempted suicide