How Does PCOS Affect Attention and Cognitive Functions?

New Delhi, May 26 (NationPress) Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS), a prevalent endocrine disorder among women, has been found to significantly impact attention and other cognitive functions, as revealed in a recent study conducted by researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay.

Women diagnosed with PCOS frequently experience irregular or absent menstrual cycles, the presence of polycystic ovaries, and elevated levels of male hormones (androgens).

While earlier studies indicated heightened levels of anxiety and depression in women with PCOS, this new research specifically examines attention—a critical component for essential cognitive processes such as receiving, interpreting, and understanding information.

Researchers Maitreyi Redkar and Prof. Azizuddin Khan from the Psychophysiology Laboratory in the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences at IIT Bombay evaluated two groups of participants: 101 women with PCOS and 72 healthy women.

The team assessed hormonal levels prior to the study and subjected both groups to various attention tasks. The findings revealed that women with PCOS displayed slower reaction times and were more easily distracted compared to their healthy counterparts.

Specifically, women diagnosed with PCOS had responses that were over 50 percent slower and made about 10 percent more errors in focused attention tests.

In the divided attention task, these women were approximately 20 percent slower and committed 3 percent more errors, according to the researchers.

Prof. Khan stated, “The cognitive experiments are meticulously designed to capture minute differences in how individuals react to critical stimuli. These subtle delays indicate significant attention impairments, potentially affecting daily life functionality.”

He further elaborated, “In terms of focused attention, it involves not only concentrating on the task but also blocking out irrelevant distractions.”

The researchers noted that the hormonal imbalances associated with PCOS could lead to diminished alertness and prolonged reaction times. In addition to elevated androgen levels, participants with PCOS exhibited insulin resistance linked to attention performance.

This insulin resistance hampers glucose metabolism and adversely impacts neuron activity, resulting in lower performance in focused attention tasks.

Mental fatigue associated with PCOS, including anxiety and frustration, exacerbates the challenge of divided attention tasks.

The findings underscore that reduced accuracy in divided attention tasks may adversely affect working memory, making everyday activities—such as following directions while driving or remembering a phone number—more difficult, the researchers concluded.