Patients with PCOS want more than weight-loss advice: Aussie review
GP expert Dr Terri-Lynne South said that targeting insulin resistance should be the top priority in PCOS treatment.
A systematic review of PCOS treatment shows that doctors and patients agree on one thing: the current approach is not working.
The Australian authors evaluated 68 studies and concluded that a weight loss–focused approach was increasing shame in patients, undermining patient motivation and frustrating doctors.
Their paper, published in Obesity Reviews, found that doctors were vexed by their patients’ inability to lose weight and perceived lack of motivation, as well as the lack of resources on PCOS treatment.
On the other side, patients said they wanted doctors to address the symptoms that distressed them the most, such as diabetes and cardiovascular risk, mental health and menstrual irregularity.
