Body Perception, Self-Esteem, and Comorbid Psychiatric Disorders in Adolescents Diagnosed with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome

Abstract

Study objective: To investigate adolescents with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) in terms of body perception, self-esteem, and comorbid psychiatric diseases by comparing them with their healthy peers.

Design: Cross-sectional design.

Setting: The Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and the Department of Pediatric Endocrinology outpatient clinic of Cumhuriyet University in Sivas, Turkey.

Participants: Fifty female adolescents aged 12-18 years who were diagnosed as having PCOS and 37 healthy adolescents aged 12-18 years.

Interventions and main outcome measures: All adolescents were evaluated by a child and adolescent psychiatrist using a semistructured interview (Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-Age Children) and asked to complete the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, Children's Depression Inventory, and Body Image Scale.

Results: The rate of psychiatric disorders in the PCOS group was significantly higher than in the control participants (16/50 (32%) vs 5/37 (13.5%), respectively; P = .046). The most common disorder was major depressive disorder. The Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale and Body Image Scale scores of the PCOS group were lower (P = .03; P < .001, respectively), and Children's Depression Inventory scores were higher (P = .03) than in the control group. There was no significant relationship between obesity, hirsutism, and insulin resistance with any psychiatric disorders in the PCOS group.

Conclusion: Adolescents with PCOS had more psychopathology than their peers. Moreover, their self-esteem was lower and their body perceptions were more dissatisfied compared with their peers.

Keywords: Adolescent; Body perception; Polycystic ovary syndrome; Psychopathology; Self-esteem.