‘Everything’s from the inside out with PCOS’: exploring women’s experiences of living with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) and co-morbidities through Skype™ interviews

Sophie Williams, David Sheffield, Rebecca C. Knibb

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Polycystic ovary syndrome is an endocrine disorder affecting 1 in 10 women. Women with polycystic ovary syndrome can experience co-morbidities, including depressive symptoms. This research explores the experience of living with polycystic ovary syndrome and co-morbidities. Totally, 10 participants with polycystic ovary syndrome took part in Skype™ interviews and analysed using thematic analysis. Four themes emerged from the data: change (to life plans and changing nature of condition); support (healthcare professionals, education and relationships); co-morbidities (living with other conditions and depression, self-harm and suicidal ideation) and identity (feminine identity and us and them). The findings highlight the need for screening of women with polycystic ovary syndrome for depressive disorders.
Original languageEnglish
Number of pages10
JournalHealth Psychology Open
Volume2
Issue number2
Early online date31 Aug 2015
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2015

Bibliographical note

Creative Commons Non Commercial CC-BY-NC: This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 License (http://www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits non-commercial use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access pages (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage).

Keywords

  • anxiety
  • depression
  • polycystic ovary syndrome
  • Skype

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