Effect of 12-month treatment with metformin and/or oral contraceptives on health-related quality of life in polycystic ovary syndrome

Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is impaired in polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), but the effect of treatment with metformin (M) and/or oral contraceptives (OCP) is undetermined. To assess changes in HRQoL during 12-month randomized treatment with M, OCP or M+OCP in PCOS. Ninety women with PCOS were randomized to treatment with M, OCP or M+OCP. HRQoL was evaluated by a PCOS-specific visual analog scale (PCOS-VAS) regarding 1: Facial hair, 2: Body hair, 3: Acne, 4: Irregular menses, 5: Weight and 6: PCOS in general, and Short Form 36 (SF-36). PCOS-VAS1(facial hair) improved during treatment with OCP (n=23) compared to M (n=19), and during M+OCP (n=23) compared to M treatment, whereas changes in PCOS-VAS2-6 and SF-36 scores were comparable between the three medical intervention groups. Pooled data (n=65) showed improved PCOS-VAS scores during treatment (all p<.05), but changes in PCOS-VAS were unassociated with changes in BMI or FG-scores despite significant weight-loss during treatment with M (-3.0kg (-10.3; 0.6)) and M+OCP (-1.9kg (-4.9; 0.1)) and decreased FG-score during M+OCP treatment (median (quartiles)). PCOS-VAS scores improved significantly and to the same extent during treatment with M, OCP or M+OCP.