Session 06 -- Endometriosis/Basic [O-027 -- O-032]

Introduction: Metformin treatment of obese women with PCOS results in significant weight loss, and improvements in cardiovascular risk factors.The aim of this study was to examine the weight losing effects 2 doses of metformin (500mg tds, 850mg tds) in obese women with PCOS, and to determine changes in food intake in patients given no diet or lifestyle advice.Methods: The study was prospective, with dose block randomisation in 2 groups of patients with PCOS.The metformin doses were 500mg tds and 850mg tds.Study assessments at T0, 4 and 8 months included anthropometric measurements (weight, BMI, waist-hip ratio), and completion of a detailed questionnaire covering the week's food intake.Changes during treatment within groups were evaluated using repeated measures ANOVA, or paired t tests, and between groups with unpaired t tests.Results: At 8 months, the 1500mg group (n=36) lost an average of 2.8 kg, (mean BMI from 37.9 to 36.8), while the 2550mg group (n=32) lost 4.8 kg (mean BMI from 36.3 to 34.5).Weight loss was consistent over the first and second 4 month period.Insulin resistance (fasting insulin and logHOMA-IR) revealed improvements in the high dose group only.Evaluation of the food intake revealed sustained reductions in bread (10 -21%), cereal (17%), meat (13 -17%) and sweet deserts (17 -28%), with a minor (10%) increase in fruit consumption.There were non-sustained increase in fish and vegetable consumption, and negligible changes in the total fat or proprietary drink intake.There was also no change in the frequency of fried foods.There was no clear dose effect on any of the foods consumed.Discussion: The weight loss in obese women after metformin treatment was dose related, while there was no difference between the doses for the reported food intake.It appears that reductions in the carbohydrate intake were the only major sustained change in dietary habits.