Prevalence of Polycystic Ovarian Disease (PCOD) Among Female Medical Students

Abstract

Objective:To estimate the prevalence of PCOD among female medical students.
Material & Methods: Across sectional study of 1st and 2nd year medical college students was
undertaken to estimate the prevalence of PCOD. Data was collected through a self-administered
questionnaire based on the clinical tool developed by Pedersen Sue et al. Obesity, longer and/or
abnormal menstrual cycles, hair on upper lip, chin, breast, chest, back, belly, arms, and thighs,
dark hair and acne were associated with the diagnosis of PCOD. Data was analyzed using SPSS
and descriptive statistics were calculated. Chi-square or Fisher exact test were used to determine
statistical significance at α=0.05.
Results: A total of 391 students from 1st (75%) and 2nd (25%) year participated in the survey.
The majority of the students were aged between 18-20 years (96%), originated from Punjab
(79.1%), had less than 50,000 Rupees per month family income (57%) and lived in the hostel
(60%). Although the majority reported having normal menses (79.7%) with an average length of
25-34 days (56.7%), a significant minority reported one of the diagnostic criteria of PCOD
especially fewer than 8 menstrual cycles per year (18.5%), acne (40%) and a coarse body hair
pattern (41.8%). This pattern included coarse hair on the upper lip (20.8%), chin (13.1%), breast
(10.5%), chest (6.7%), back (2.3%), belly (13.8%), arms (10.5%) and thighs (11.8%). A
noteworthy portion also reported other signs and symptoms including being rated as overweight
(25.4%), experiencing milky discharge from nipples (5.4%), suffering from anxiety or depression
(67.9%) and thinning scalp hair (54.9%). Historical indicators included a positive personal history
of ovarian cysts (7.4%) and a family history of diabetes (39%) and ovarian cysts (12.1%).
Conclusion: According to the clinical diagnostic criteria, 7.7% of female medical students in the
sample population have PCOD validating the claim that PCOD is a common and under diagnosed
endocrinopathy and highlighting the need for increased awareness, knowledge and appropriate
treatment.