Synbiotic supplements boost benefits of lifestyle change on obese women with PCOS

The addition of synbiotic supplementation to lifestyle modifications increases the latter’s beneficial effects on weight loss and results in significant decrease in serum testosterone in overweight and obese women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), a recent study has shown.

A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial at an academic hospital was conducted to assess the effects of lifestyle modifications and synbiotic supplementation on PCOS. The investigators identified overweight and obese women with PCOS using the Rotterdam criteria. They performed evaluations at baseline and after 3 months of treatment.

Participants were randomly assigned (1:1) to either lifestyle modifications in combination with synbiotic supplementation or placebo. Changes in body mass index (BMI) and testosterone level were the main outcomes measured.

BMI decreased by 5 percent in the placebo group, which was joined by significant reductions in the waist, hip, and thigh circumferences. In the synbiotic group, participants had an 8-percent decrease in BMI, which was significantly higher than that in the control group (p=0.03), as well as reductions in the waist, hip, and thigh circumferences.

Testosterone decreased significantly in the synbiotic group but not in the placebo group (32 percent vs 6 percent; p<0.0001). Evidently, the decrease in testosterone levels was markedly greater in the symbiotic than in the placebo group (p=0.016).

“PCOS is the most common endocrinopathy affecting women of reproductive age,” the investigators said.