The association between meat consumption and polycystic ovary syndrome in Iranian women: a case-control study.

Background: In light of the observed association between nutritional factors and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) in recent decades, the present study was conducted to investigate the association between the consumption of various types of meat and PCOS in Iranian women.

Material and methods: This frequency-matched case-control study included 108 women with newly diagnosed PCOS and 108 age and body-mass-index-matched women without PCOS, as a control group, who were referred to the Yazd Diabetes Clinic and Khatam Clinic between January 2018 and March 2019. The validated 178-item food frequency questionnaire was used to assess the usual dietary intake. Logistic regression analysis was used to estimate the association between meat consumption and PCOS.

Results: The findings of this study showed, the individuals in the third tertile of red meat intake, had higher odds of PCOS in the crude model (Odds Ratio (OR) = 4.29; 95% Confidence Interval (CI), 2.13-8.64; P-value = 0.001) compared with those in the first tertile. These results remained significant after adjustments for energy intake, marital status, physical activity, education, pregnancy history and chronic disease history (OR = 3.87; 95% CI, 1.78-8.40; P-value = 0.001). Higher consumption of red meat increased the risk of PCOS by 3.87 times. Furthermore, higher consumption of processed meats increased the risk of PCOS by 2.15 times (OR = 2.15; 95% CI, 1.05-4.39; P-value and trend = 0.035). We did not find an association between other types of meat consumption and PCOS.

Conclusion: The results of the present study showed that a higher consumption of red and processed meat is associated with a higher risk of PCOS, whereas no significant correlation was found between the consumption of poultry, fish, and organ meat and PCOS. However, more studies are needed to support these findings in the future.