Health Awareness of Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome and Its Complications in Lebanon: A Cross-sectional Study
Abstract Background: Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) is a common disorder that has many different presentations in females. However, females with this disorder, and due to their lack of awareness, usually have delayed diagnosis and treatment. The objective of this study is to assess knowledge about PCOS amongst Lebanese women in the reproductive age group.Methods: Cross sectional study was performed on 421 women of age group 18-51 years from all governorates in Lebanon. Written informed consent and participants were included through the help of convenient sampling. A well-conducted questionnaire was constructed and the study was approved by the Institutional Review Board’s Committee at Beirut Arab University (BAU) prior to data collection. Data entry was completed with SPSS (IBM version 23.1) and analyzed descriptive measurements like mean and standard deviation were used for quantitative variables, whereas percentages were used for qualitative variables. Frequencies were assessed for categorical variables. Chi-Square test and P-values, were used to compare between qualitative variables.Results: Among 421 participants, 75% were aware of the term PCOS. More than 60% knew about the various signs and symptoms associated with PCOS but around half were aware about its complications. Around two-third agreed that exercise was one of the methods that could alleviate PCOS symptoms, and around 57% agreed that weight loss could decrease symptoms as well.Conclusions: The results of the present study show that Lebanese women were aware of common symptoms of PCOS. On the other hand, their knowledge was minimal regarding more complex manifestations and complications of PCOS.