QUESTION: Is there a difference between gut microbiome of PCOS patients and healthy controls?

SUMMARY

PCOS affects 5 to 18 % of reproductive age women. It leads to chronic anovulation, infertility, miscarriage as well as increased risk of endometrial cancer, cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes mellitus, depression and anxiety. 

Dysbiosis of gut microbiome (DOGMA) theory claims that altered gut microbiota is responsible for insulin resistance (IR) and chronic inflammation in PCOS. An imbalance between good and bad gut bacteria plays the key role in its pathogenesis. Several studies have shown significant differences in gut microbiota between controls and disease groups. Correlation between microbial diversity indices and metabolic/ hormonal profile has given new insights into pathology of PCOS. 

Current treatment options include lifestyle changes, insulin sensitizers, sex steroids and gonadotropins have certain disadvantages. Hence, there is scope of indulging into new treatment approaches in PCOS. Modification of the colonic bacterial balance through the use of prebiotics and probiotics has the potential to be an effective treatment of PCOS, with several disadvantages over traditional treatments since it targets the proposed initial pathological insult n the condition - microbiological dysbiosis and resultant leaky gut. There is a paucity of literature regarding altered gut microbiome among patients with PCOS in western India population. Therefore, our study aims to study the gut microbial diversity and its correlation with metabolic/ hormonal profile in this population.