Prevalence of Anxiety and Depression among PCOS Patients Seen in a Tertiary Government Hospital Using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale – English/Pilipino Version (HADS/HADS-P)

Background: PCOS is a common gynecologic disorder and recent studies have found that they are more prone in developing depression and anxiety compared to the general population. The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) is a popular and simple self-administered instrument reliable for detecting states of anxiety and depression. Using this simple screening tool, it may lead to the identification of such mental disorders that may warrant timely psychiatric referral. Objectives: We aim to determine the prevalence of anxiety and depression among PCOS patients using the HADS-P questionnaire. We also aim to determine association between depression whereas low parity, hirsutism and presence of anxiety were predictors of depression. Adjusted logistic regression identified only presence of depression and infertility were significant predictors of anxiety (n: 116, LR χ2 (5): 15.46, p<0.01); while presence of anxiety increase the odds of depression by 2 to 13 fold, it was not statistically significant (n: 116, LR χ2 (5): 9.79, p: 0.08) Conclusion: There is a high prevalence of anxiety and depression among PCOS patients. The factors that were seen to be significantly associated with the development of anxiety were the presence of depression, impaired glucose tolerance, infertility and prominent acne, while for the development of depression were the presence of anxiety, hirsutism and low parity. Screening for anxiety and depression is of paramount importance and physicians should be vigilant for the need of possible psychiatric intervention.