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Review
. 2023 Jul 14;15(14):3144.
doi: 10.3390/nu15143144.

Probiotics and Polycystic Ovary Syndrome: A Perspective for Management in Adolescents with Obesity

Valeria Calcaterra  1   2 , Virginia Rossi  2 , Giulia Massini  2 , Francesca Casini  2 , Gianvincenzo Zuccotti  2   3 , Valentina Fabiano  2   3
Affiliations
Review

Probiotics and Polycystic Ovary Syndrome: A Perspective for Management in Adolescents with Obesity

Valeria Calcaterra et al. Nutrients. .

Abstract

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) affects a considerable percentage of females of reproductive age. PCOS is an obesity-related condition and its effects are greatly amplified by obesity. Even though the pathogenesis of PCOS remains complex and has not been fully elucidated, a link between obesity, PCOS, and dysbiosis has been described. The potential role of the gut microbiota in the development and progression of PCOS and its associated symptoms has also been reported. The aim of this narrative review is to present a non-systematic analysis of the available literature on the topic of probiotics and PCOS in adolescents with obesity in order to revise the beneficial effects of probiotics/symbiotic supplementation on hormonal and metabolic profiles and inflammatory conditions. The effectiveness of probiotics/synbiotics in PCOS has been supported. The literature suggests that probiotic/symbiotic supplementation may ameliorate hormonal profiles, inflammatory indicators, and lipid metabolism disturbances caused by PCOS. Studies also show improvements in weight, BMI, insulin, and HOMA-IR, including a potential role it plays in protecting fertility. Even though further studies are needed to confirm these findings, particularly in adolescent patients, probiotic supplementation may be considered a solution for managing PCOS in adolescents with obesity.

Keywords: adolescents; dysbiosis; microbiome; obesity; polycystic ovary syndrome; probiotics.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flowchart of the criteria used for article selection.
Figure 2
Figure 2
The link between microbiome and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) (created with BioRender.com (accessed on 2 April 2023)).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Relationship between microbiome and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) (created with BioRender.com (accessed on 2 April 2023)).
Figure 4
Figure 4
Effects of probiotic supplementation on polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) (created with BioRender.com (accessed on 2 April 2023)).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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