Mood and Nutrition Interventions in Polycystic Ovary Syndrome
Condition: Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS)
MeSH terms: Polycystic Ovary Syndrome; Syndrome
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      The purpose of this study is to help determine the best treatment plan for women with PCOS
      who are overweight or obese and experiencing significant symptoms of depression and anxiety.

      Specifically, the investigators are attempting to see if there is a difference between
      cognitive behavioral therapy in combination with nutritional counseling in improving mood
      symptoms, response to stress, and risk factors for heart disease compared to nutrition
      counseling alone. The investigators hypothesize that combined treatment with Cognitive
      Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and nutritional counseling will be more beneficial.
    

Detailed description: 
      This study will assess the impact of treatment of mood and associated anxiety disorders in
      conjunction with nutritional/exercise counseling in overweight/obese women with PCOS on
      cardiometabolic risk. The investigators hypothesize that women with PCOS will have greater
      benefit from dual intervention (psychological and nutritional/exercise counseling) for change
      in depressive symptoms and cardiometabolic risk reduction compared to nutritional/exercise
      counseling alone. In addition, the investigators hypothesize that psychological counseling
      may improve cardiometabolic risk by decreasing stress responses and stress associated markers
      of inflammation.
    

Intervention name(s): Cognitive Behavioral Therapy; Nutrition Counseling
Intervention type(s): Behavioral; Behavioral
Intervention description(s): Participants will receive weekly, 30 minute sessions with a CBT-trained clinical psychologist for the first 8 weeks. Briefly, the purpose of CBT is to treat mood and associated anxiety disorders by changing dysfunctional thoughts that lead to negative mood states and maladaptive behaviors. Through the use of Socratic questioning, the therapist challenges the patient to observe the relationship between thoughts and feelings and to question the underlying beliefs that perpetuate negative affect. Ultimately, patients learns to recognize maladaptive automatic thoughts and develop a more rational and balanced way of thinking about themselves and the world around them.; All women will receive nutrition/exercise counseling by a trained counselor. They will consume a self-selected diet of 1500-1800kcal/d of conventional foods based on the Food Guide Pyramid. Participants will also have an exercise goal that starts at 50 minutes per week and increases to 175 minutes per week. Sessions will teach standard weight loss skills, including self-monitoring, problem-solving, enlisting social support, and overcoming negative thoughts. Subjects will be asked to keep daily food intake and exercise logs which will be reviewed at the nutrition counseling sessions. These sessions will occur in person once weekly lasting on average 30 minutes for 16 sessions.
Other intervention name(s): CBT; Dietary Counseling; Exercise Counseling
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)
Primary purpose: Treatment
Keywords: Polycystic Ovary Syndrome; PCOS; Depression; Anxiety; Weight loss; Exercise; Nutrition; Therapy; Mood symptoms; Stress