Quality of Life and Sexual Health

Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) has an overall negative impact on quality of life (QoL). Various signs and symptoms of PCOS have variable influence on QoL likely because of socio-cultural issues. Among these symptoms, dermatological issues (hirsutism, acne, alopecia) and overweight/obesity are associated with low self-esteem and poor body image, whereas menstrual irregularities determine distress and concerns about fertility, being infertility itself a major contributor to reduced QoL. Moreover, PCOS is associated to a higher risk of anxiety and depression and with body image distress and other psychiatric disorders. That being, psychological and emotional components should be routinely screened and treated in PCOS women. The impact of PCOS on sexual function is controversial, given the multifactorial causes of women’s sexual dysfunction and the different phenotypes and severity of PCOS. Being as it may, while biochemical hyperandrogenemia of PCOS might act as a protective factor on sexual function, clinical signs of hyperandrogenism, which reflect individual androgen sensitivity, may be a cause of sexual dysfunction through impaired body image.