Pharmacognosy, Medicinal Plants and Natural Products

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common condition in human beings,

affecting 5-10% of women of reproductive age worldwide. It might lead to a

variety of syndrome such as reproductive, metabolic and mood disorders. The

symptoms of PCOS are complex. The academic circles had made it clear that women with polycystic ovary syndrome have a higher proportion of insulin resistance and are expected to have an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes in the future. Current treatment of PCOS mainly focuses on symptomatic treatment. This study aimed to understand whether the intervention of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in women with PCOS could reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus. Therefore, we selected the National Health Insurance Database as data source, and randomly selected 1 million enrollees. We identified 684 eligible patients who were newly diagnosed with PCOS in 1997-2010 and underwent blood test of serum testosterone or gynecologic ultrasound. All enrolled cases were 1:1 frequency-matched by age, and diagnosis of PCOS date and index days. Surprisingly, we found that the incidence of type 2 diabetes in TCM groups was significantly lower than in non- TCM group (HR=0.31, 95% CI=0.15-0.64, P=0.0014). Our study suggests that Chinese medicine may play a role in the prevention of subsequent complication of diabetes in patients with PCOS. It is expected that in the future, further clinical research and pharmacological analysis based on these findings.