Impact of the individual counseling program for polycystic ovarya syndrome management among university students: A prospective randomized controlled trial

Background: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is common in women of reproductive age. Aim: This study aimed to investigate the impact of individual counseling program which had been designed from the transtheoretical model (TM) for students diagnosed with PCOS. Patients and Methods: The study is a prospective randomized controlled trial. The research was carried out in four stages as screening, diagnosis, randomization, selection, and counseling. The data for the analysis were drawn from a sample of 854 students at first and a total of 67 students were administered the scales. The control (n = 33) and experimental groups (n = 34) were formed based on the simple randomization technique. The sample characteristics were voluntary participation, absence of sexual activity for a minimum of 6 months, belonging to the age group of 19-24, an absence of chronic diseases or any physical disability, and a lack of mental disorders. Participants using medication and obtaining scores of above/below 18.5 and below/above 30 on the body mass index (BMI) were not included in the study. Results: The prevalence of PCOS among university students was found to be 8.8%. The findings indicated that the majority of the students have been experiencing various physical symptoms such as being overweight, menstrual irregularity, hirsutism, alopecia, acne, and psychological symptoms such as uneasiness, irritability, anger, anxiety, and fatigue. Based on the pretest and posttest scores, it was observed that the anthropometric values and psychological indicators such as the feeling of uneasiness, irritability, anger, anxiety, and fatigue were significantly decreased in the group of PCOS that took the counseling program. Conclusions: Individual counseling improved the anthropometric measurements and the clinical findings related to PCOS.