Are Psychosocial Consequences of Obesity and Hyperandrogenism Present in Adolescent Girls with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome?

Study Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate whether body weight status and clinical hyperandrogenism may influence social competencies and psychological gender features in adolescent girls.

Design and Participants: In 104 adolescent girls, psychological gender inventory (PGI) and social competencies questionnaire (SCQ) (assessing social abilities in three aspects: intimacy (I), social exposure (SE), and assertiveness (AS)) were performed. Subjects were divided into four subgroups: G1-24 nonobese girls without hyperandrogenism, G2-18 obese girls without hyperandrogenism, G3-30 nonobese hyperandrogenic girls, and G4-32 obese girls with hyperandrogenism.

Results: There were no significant differences in all parts of SCQ and PGI between the study and control groups. The feminine woman type dominated in all groups; in G3 and G4, masculine woman type appeared more often than in G1 and G2 (13.3% and 12.5% versus 4.0% and 0.0%, resp.). In G4, positive relationship between BMI z -score and SCQ ( r = 0.4, p = 0.03) was found. In G1, the relationship was opposite ( r = -0.5, p = 0.03). Hirsutism correlated negatively with SCQ ( r = -0.5, p = 0.02), I ( r = -0.5, p = 0.02), and AS ( r = -0.5, p = 0.02) only in G1; in other groups, this relationship was insignificant. In G4, higher testosterone level was associated with lower SCQ ( r = -0.5, p = 0.008) and AS ( r = -0.5, p = 0.003). In G2, testosterone concentration correlated positively with SCQ ( r = 0.6, p = 0.01), SE ( r = 0.5, p = 0.02), and AS ( r = 0.6, p = 0.02).

Conclusion: In adolescent girls, neither body weight nor clinical features of hyperandrogenism seem to be the source of evaluated disorders in psychological functioning.