Holistic approaches to PCOS: Diet, Exercise and Mental well-being.

Abstract

Objective: To comprehend holistic approaches through evaluating diet, exercise, and mental health in patients with poly-cystic ovarian syndrome.
Methodology: From August 2024 to January 2025, a descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out at the tertiary care facility in Jauharabad, Pakistan; following approval from the hospital's ethical committee and consent from study partici-pants. Total 85 females with PCOS that participated in the survey. PCOS was identified using the Rotterdam criteria by the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, Data was gathered using a structured questionnaire that included de-mographics, PCOS symptoms, holistic approaches (dietary practices, physical activity), and mental health (stress lev-els, coping mechanisms). Following data collection, SPSS 21 software was used to sort and analyze the data. For all variables, descriptive statistics using frequency and percentage were used.
Results: The majority of participants (45.9%) were between the ages of 28 and 36. 78.9% of those surveyed said they have mental health problems. 5.7% of respondents believed they lacked the knowledge and resources necessary to manage PCOS comprehensively. Just 33% of respondents were following holistic methods and eating a healthy, bal-anced diet. Just 17.7% of women reported engaging in daily physical activity. Of the individuals, moderate to high levels of stress were reported by 29.4% and 20%, respectively. 57.6% of participants said that emotional and psychological barriers made managing PCOS difficult, and 67.1% said that they had problems managing the condition because of conflicting information and guidance.
Conclusion: PCOS is linked to a variety of emotional, physical, hormonal, metabolic, and nutritional issues, such as de-pression and anxiety. These problems frequently lower patients' quality of life. Holistic treatments for PCOS are un-derappreciated and ought to be given more attention.
Key words: Ovarian Diseases, Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, Holistic approach, Diet therapy.