Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay have found that Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) can affect attention and other mental abilities in women. PCOS is a common hormonal disorder that causes irregular periods, higher levels of male hormones and cysts in the ovaries.
While earlier studies have shown that women with PCOS often suffer from anxiety and depression, this new research focused on how the condition affects attention. Attention is an important mental process that helps people receive and understand information properly.
The study was conducted by Maitreyi Redkar and Professor Azizuddin Khan from the Psychophysiology Laboratory in the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences at IIT Bombay. They studied two groups of women. One group had 101 women with PCOS and the other had 72 healthy women without the condition. Before the tests, the researchers measured the hormone levels of all the participants.
They found that women with PCOS were slower to respond and more easily distracted. In the focused attention test, women with PCOS took over 50 percent more time and made about 10 percent more mistakes than the healthy women. In another test that measured divided attention, women with PCOS performed about 20 percent slower and made 3 percent more mistakes.
The researchers said that the hormonal imbalance in PCOS, including high androgen levels and insulin resistance, may be affecting brain activity. Insulin resistance, which is common in women with PCOS, affects how the brain uses glucose, leading to slower reaction times and lower alertness. Mental fatigue, anxiety and frustration may also make it harder to focus on more than one task at a time.
The study shows that PCOS can have an impact on daily activities that need attention and memory, such as remembering a phone number or following directions while driving.
