Dietary habits and body composition in tunisian women with polycystic ovary syndrome

Objective: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is the most common endocrine disorder affecting women of reproductive age. About 50 % of diagnosed women are obese or overweight, suggesting that there is a possible link between abnormal dietary habits and PCOS. Objective: to compare the dietary intakes between women with PCOS and healthy controls. Design and method: A case-control study was performed. Women with PCOS and age-matched controls were recruited and asked to complete a questionnaire on their eating habits and a recall dietary diary, from which their caloric, macronutrients (carbohydrate, fat, protein, fiber), and micronutrients (folic acid, iron, calcium, sodium…) intakes were calculated. Systolic and diastolic blood pressure, anthropometric indexes (height, body weight, and body mass index (BMI), and body composition (lean mass and fat mass) were measured. Results: Sixteen women with PCOS and 8 controls were included. Mean age was 27.06 +/- 6.6 and 26.3 +/-5.9 years and BMI was 26.8 +/- 5 and 27.7+/- 7.8 kg/m 2 , respectively. We observed lower lean mass (45.6 vs 48.8 kg) and fat mass (23.6 vs 26.9 kg) in PCOS patients compared to controls. No significant difference in blood pressure was observed between the two groups. Both PCOS and control groups had similar energy (2114.1 vs 2155.6 kcal/d) and macronutrient intakes. In women with PCOS, the percentage of energy from fat was lower (35.2 vs 38.3%) and the percentage of energy from carbohydrates was slightly higher compared with normal controls (53.6 vs 51.3%). PCOS women had significantly higher zinc intake (8.6 vs 7.6 mg, p = 0.032). Daily cholesterol intake was higher in the PCOS group (281.3 mg versus 254.7 mg). All women had a low daily consumption of dietary fiber than the recommended value of 25 g. Conclusions: This study didn’t find major differences in macronutrient intake in PCOS patients compared to controls. Regarding micronutrients, a high zinc diet in PCOS patients could be a key observation. It could clear up PCOS pathophysiology, since zinc has major biological roles, as a catalyst, structural, and regulatory ion.