Psychological Interventions for Women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS):   A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomised and Non-Randomised Controlled Trials

Claire Adshead; David Sheffield; Dean Fido; Lukasz Lagojda; Ioannis Kyrou; Harpal S. Randeva; Sophie Williams; Chris Kite

doi:10.3390/psycholint8010015

Psychological Interventions for Women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS): A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomised and Non-Randomised Controlled Trials

Claire Adshead
, David Sheffield
, Dean Fido
, Lukasz Lagojda
, Ioannis Kyrou
, Harpal S. Randeva
, Sophie Williams
, Chris Kite

Aston Medical School

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is an endocrine condition affecting 8–13% of reproductive-aged women globally. Psychological features of PCOS are often overlooked despite their association with mental health complications. This systematic review synthesises existing evidence of psychological interventions for women with PCOS. Database searches returned 4982 articles, of which 20 papers were eligible; 12 studies were meta-analysed. Compared to control, psychological interventions had statistically beneficial effects on change from baseline values for depression, PCOS-specific quality of life, general health, and body image. Significant improvements were found in all PCOS Questionnaire (PCOSQ) domains except acne, yet the importance of these differences in clinical practice was indeterminable. Despite statistical effects, the quality of evidence was judged as low/very-low due to between study heterogeneity, risk of bias, and imprecision in effect estimates. Future studies should focus on rigorously designed, well-reported trials, in order to address the uncertainty around the effectiveness of psychological interventions. The protocol of this systematic review was prospectively registered on the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO: CRD42023472417).

Original language	English
Article number	15
Number of pages	33
Journal	Psychology International
Volume	8
Issue number	1
Early online date	21 Feb 2026
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.3390/psycholint8010015
Publication status	E-pub ahead of print - 21 Feb 2026

Bibliographical note

Data Access Statement

Information for existing publicly accessible datasets is contained within the article

Funding

This systematic review was completed as part of a funded PhD project (C.A.) through the University of Derby in partnership with the University Hospitals Coventry & Warwickshire (UHCW) NHS Trust. The APC was funded by The University of Wolverhampton.

Keywords

polycystic ovary syndrome
PCOS
psychological interventions
systematic review
meta-analysis
mental health
quality of life
body image

Access to Document

10.3390/psycholint8010015

Psychological Interventions for Women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS): A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomised and Non-Randomised Controlled Trials
© 2026 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license
Final published version, 2.61 MBLicence: CC BY 4.0

Cite this

Adshead, C., Sheffield, D., Fido, D., Lagojda, L., Kyrou, I., Randeva, H. S., Williams, S., & Kite, C. (2026). Psychological Interventions for Women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS): A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomised and Non-Randomised Controlled Trials. Psychology International, 8(1), Article 15. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.3390/psycholint8010015

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abstract = "Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is an endocrine condition affecting 8–13\% of reproductive-aged women globally. Psychological features of PCOS are often overlooked despite their association with mental health complications. This systematic review synthesises existing evidence of psychological interventions for women with PCOS. Database searches returned 4982 articles, of which 20 papers were eligible; 12 studies were meta-analysed. Compared to control, psychological interventions had statistically beneficial effects on change from baseline values for depression, PCOS-specific quality of life, general health, and body image. Significant improvements were found in all PCOS Questionnaire (PCOSQ) domains except acne, yet the importance of these differences in clinical practice was indeterminable. Despite statistical effects, the quality of evidence was judged as low/very-low due to between study heterogeneity, risk of bias, and imprecision in effect estimates. Future studies should focus on rigorously designed, well-reported trials, in order to address the uncertainty around the effectiveness of psychological interventions. The protocol of this systematic review was prospectively registered on the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO: CRD42023472417).",

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