Awareness Regarding Polycystic Ovary Syndrome and Its Diagnostic Criteria Among Female Medical and Non-Medical Undergraduate Students
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.61982/65wx6162Keywords:
Awareness, Diagnosis, Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, QuestionnaireAbstract
Background: Polycystic ovary syndrome is a common metabolic and reproductive disorder in women of reproductive age. Accurate awareness of its clinical features and diagnostic criteria may facilitate timely recognition and appropriate care.
Objective: To assess awareness regarding polycystic ovary syndrome and its diagnostic criteria among female medical and non-medical undergraduate students.
Methods: This analytical cross-sectional study was conducted from September 2024 to January 2025 after obtaining approval from the Ethical Review Committee of CMH Lahore Medical College & Institute of Dentistry. A self-structured questionnaire was used. Its internal consistency was assessed using Cronbach’s alpha, which was 0.90. Content validity was assessed through detailed review and discussion with three specialist female gynecologists. A pilot study involving 30 participants was conducted to assess feasibility and clarity. The questionnaire consisted of two sections: general awareness of polycystic ovary syndrome (9 questions) and awareness of diagnostic criteria based on the Rotterdam criteria (4 questions). The survey was distributed electronically via Google Forms to medical and non-medical undergraduate students. A total of 136 medical students from CMH Lahore Medical College & Institute of Dentistry and 119 non-medical students from the University of Lahore participated. Informed consent was obtained from all participants, ensuring confidentiality and voluntary participation. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 26, with p<0.05 statistically significant. The Chi-square test was used to compare categorical variables between groups. The Shapiro-Wilk test was used to assess normality of data. Because the awareness scores were not normally distributed, the Mann-Whitney U test was used to compare awareness levels between medical and non-medical students.
Results: Of the participants, 136 (53.3%) were medical and 119 (46.7%) were non-medical students. General polycystic ovary syndrome awareness scores were higher among medical students (mean 37.74±4.43) than non-medical students (31.45±6.05), as were diagnostic-awareness scores (15.49±2.3 vs. 11.28±3.82). Mann–Whitney U testing demonstrated significant association between-group differences for both diagnostic awareness (U=2,884.5, p<0.001) and general awareness (U=2,701.0, p<0.001).
Conclusion: Medical students demonstrated significantly higher awareness than non-medical students; however, gaps in understanding polycystic ovary syndrome diagnostic criteria remained in both groups. Targeted educational initiatives may improve polycystic ovary syndrome health literacy among undergraduate students.
Downloads
References
1. Sruthi VL, Bindu PM, Sri Y. A study on prevalence of polycystic ovarian syndrome in medical students in a medical college. International Journal of Academic Medicine and Pharmacy. 2023;5(3):117-22. DOI:10.47009/jamp.2023.5.3.26.
2. Upadhye JJ, Shembekar CA. Awareness of PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome) in adolescent and young girls. International Journal of Reproduction, Contraception, Obstetrics and Gynecology. 2017;6(6):2297-301.
DOI:10.18203/2320-1770.ijrcog20172119.
3. Haq N, Khan Z, Riaz S, Nasim A, Shahwani R, Tahir M. Prevalence and knowledge of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) among female science students of different public universities of Quetta, Pakistan. Imperial Journal of Interdisciplinary Research. 2017;3(6):385-92.
4. Mazia F. Knowledge and awareness of polycystic ovarian syndrome among university students in Narayanganj [dissertation]. Dhaka: East West University; 2017.
5. Hussin SN, Abd Kadir NH. A study on knowledge, attitude and perception of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) among young students in higher educational institutions, Perak. Journal of Social Science Advanced Research. 2020;1(2):160-81.
6. Abdalla H, Osman N, Morgham A, Sultan M. Prevalence of polycystic ovary syndrome in fourth-year medical students of University of Tripoli. Alqalam Journal of Medical and Applied Sciences. 2021;4(1):151-4.
DOI:10.5281/zenodo.5515467.
7. Sunanda B, Nayak S. A study to assess the knowledge regarding PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome) among nursing students at NUINS. Journal of Health and Allied Sciences NU. 2016;6(3):24-6.
DOI:10.1055/s-0040-1708657.
8. Salama AM, Elbana HM. Effect of self instructional module on awareness of polycystic ovarian syndrome among adolescent students. American Journal of Nursing Research. 2019;7(6):1009-19.
DOI:10.12691/ajnr-7-6-15.
9. Thabet H, Alsharif F, Garoot L, Almutairi L, Kutbi R. The level of awareness of nursing students regarding polycystic ovarian syndrome in King Abdulaziz University. Saudi Nursing Journal. 2021;9(26):172-81. DOI:10.21608/ASNJ.2022.99698.1242.
10. Teede HJ, Tay CT, Laven JJE, Dokras A, Moran LJ, Piltonen TT, et al.; International PCOS Network. Recommendations from the 2023 International Evidence-based Guideline for the Assessment and Management of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome. Human Reproduction. 2023;38(9):1655-79. DOI:10.1093/humrep/dead156.
11. Zaitoun B, Al Kubaisi A, AlQattan N, Alassouli Y, Mohammad A, Alameeri H, et al. Polycystic ovarian syndrome awareness among females in the UAE: a cross-sectional study. BMC Women’s Health. 2023;23(1):181.
DOI:10.1186/s12905-023-02318-y.
12. Pramodh S. Exploration of lifestyle choices, reproductive health knowledge, and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) awareness among female Emirati university students. International Journal of Women's Health. 2020;12:927-38. DOI:10.2147/IJWH.S272867.
13. Riaz MW, Ashraf S, Azam MS, Butt NI, Waris B, Ghoauri MSA. Awareness of polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) in young adult female university students from Lahore Pakistan. Journal of Current Health Sciences. 2026;6(1):21-8. DOI:10.47679/jchs.2026143.
14. Cochran WG. Sampling techniques. 3rd ed. New York: John Wiley & Sons; 1977.
15. Chang S, Dunaif A. Diagnosis of polycystic ovary syndrome: which criteria to use and when? Endocrinology and Metabolism Clinics of North America. 2021;50(1):11-23. DOI:10.1016/j.ecl.2020.10.002.
16. Franks S. Controversy in clinical endocrinology: diagnosis of polycystic ovarian syndrome: in defense of the Rotterdam criteria. The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism. 2006;91(3):786-9.
DOI:10.1210/jc.2005-2501.
17. Alshdaifat E, Sindiani A, Amarin Z, Absy N, AlOsta N, Abuhayyeh HA, et al. Awareness of polycystic ovary syndrome: a university students' perspective. Ann Med Surg (Lond). 2021;72:103123.
Annals of Medicine and Surgery
DOI:10.1016/j.amsu.2021.103123.
18. Rizvi M, Islam MA, Aftab MT, Naqvi AA, Jahangir A, Ishaqui AA, et al. Knowledge, attitude, and perceptions about polycystic ovarian syndrome, and its determinants among Pakistani undergraduate students. PLoS One. 2023;18(5):e0285284. DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0285284.
19. Sasikala R, Shanmugham D, Varghese J, Saravanan D. A study of knowledge and awareness on polycystic ovarian syndrome among nursing students in a tertiary centre in South India. National Indian Journal of Obstetrics. 2021;8(1):121-5. DOI:10.21276/obgyn.2021.8.1.23.
20. Jahangir S. A study on knowledge and awareness of polycystic ovarian syndrome among female non-medical undergraduate students [dissertation]. Dhaka: East West University; 2017.
Downloads
Published
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Noor Fatima, Fatima Batool, Javeria Khan, Muhammad Mudassar Mahmood, Natasha Irum
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Copyright © The Authors.
CMH Journal of Allied Health Sciences is published by CMH Lahore Medical College and Institute of Dentistry.
