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Meta-Analysis
. 2025 May 13;15(1):16512.
doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-99622-4.

Efficacy and safety of GLP-1 receptor agonists on weight management and metabolic parameters in PCOS women: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

Shike Lin  1   2   3 , Yan Deng  4 , Jing Huang  5 , Meiyan Li  2   3 , Suren Rao Sooranna  6 , Minzhen Qin  7   8 , Bing Tan  9   10
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

Efficacy and safety of GLP-1 receptor agonists on weight management and metabolic parameters in PCOS women: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

Shike Lin et al. Sci Rep. .

Abstract

This meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RAs) when compared to metformin and placebo in the management of body weight, glucose homeostasis and hormone levels in women polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). A systematic search of "PubMed", "EMBASE", "Cochrane Library", "Web of Science" and "Google Scholar" was conducted up to October 2024 for randomized controlled trials involving adult women with PCOS treated with GLP-1RAs compared to metformin or placebo. The primary outcomes were changes in body mass index (BMI), body weight, waist circumference (WC), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) and abdominal girth (AG). Secondary outcomes included glucose homeostasis (fasting glucose, fasting insulin, OGTT results and HOMA-IR), hormone levels (DHEAS, SHBG, total and free testosterone and FAI), lipid profiles (total cholesterol, HDL, LDL and triglycerides) and safety. GLP-1RAs significantly reduced BMI, body weight, WC, WHR and AG (P < 0.0001 in all cases). For glucose homeostasis, GLP-1RAs significantly reduced fasting insulin, glucose level at 2 h after OGTT, and HOMA-IR. There was also a reduction in HDL. All the other parameters measured were unchanged. In addition, GLP-1RAs increased nausea (P = 0.02), vomiting (0.04) and dizziness (0.03). GLP-1RAs effectively reduced body weight, BMI and insulin resistance in patients with PCOS, although they were accompanied by nausea, vomiting and dizziness. Further studies are needed to explore their long-term effects on glucose homeostasis and lipid profiles.

Keywords: Anthropometric measurement; GLP-1 receptor agonists; Glucose homeostasis; Meta-analysis of RCTs; Metabolic outcomes; Polycystic ovary syndrome.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests. Ethical statement: Not applicable.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
A PRISMA flow diagram for the literature selection.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
A bias assessment of this study. (A) Risk of bias bar. (B) Risk of bias summary.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
A meta-analysis of BMI changes found in this study (A), body weight changes (B), WC (C), WHR (D) and AG (E).
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Meta-analysis of the fasting glucose (A), glucose at 2 h (B), fasting insulin (C), insulin at 2 h (D) and HOMA-IR (E) levels found in this study.
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
Meta-analysis of the DHEAS (A), SHBG (B), total testosterone (C), free testosterone (D) and FAI (E) levels found in this study.
Fig. 6
Fig. 6
Meta-analysis of the total cholesterol (A), HDL (B), LDL (C) and TG (D) levels found in this study.
Fig. 7
Fig. 7
Meta-analysis of nausea (A), vomiting (B), diarrhea (C), constipation (D), stomachache (E), bloating (F), dizziness (G), fatigue (H), headache (I) and insomnia (J) found in this study.
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