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Approved research

Clustering of cardiometabolic risk factors and their association with physical activity and sedentary time in women with and without polycystic ovary syndrome: a principal component analysis.

Principal Investigator: Mr Chris Kite
Approved Research ID: 52771
Approval date: October 16th 2019

Lay summary

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) affects many women worldwide and causes a range of symptoms such as acne, excess hair, irregular periods, and sometimes, infertility. Women with PCOS are also more likely to be obese, have high blood pressure and high cholesterol which can lead to diabetes and heart disease. Exercise is often recommended to manage the symptoms of PCOS. However, less is known about the effects of day-to-day activities. Day-to-day activities are the things done for work, walking from place to place, household chores or sports that are played for fun. We are also interested in the time spent sitting. Those who sit for long periods of time have a higher risk of disease, and when activity levels are low, the risk is even greater. To our knowledge, this has not been investigated in women with PCOS. Participants in the UK Biobank have reported their physical activity and sitting behaviours. We will assess these reported values to find out whether being more physically active, and sitting less reduces the risk of developing further conditions in PCOS. We will also compare this data to a group of women without PCOS to find out whether it is more (or less) important if you have been diagnosed with PCOS. Gaining a better understanding about the role of being active, and high sitting time in PCOS will help to develop treatment guidelines and shape the information provided by health professionals. It will also help to educate women with PCOS about the physical and mental benefits of becoming more active.