Myo-inositol doesn’t lower risk of pregnancy complications in PCOS patients: study

While myo-inositol supplementation during pregnancy is considered safe, it does not reduce the risk of pregnancy complications in people with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), according to a clinical trial that took place in the Netherlands.PCOS is the most common endocrine disorder in women of reproductive age, the study noted. One in three pregnancies among people with PCOS result in complications including gestational diabetes, preeclampsia and pre-term birth.Existing research has shown that supplementation with myo-inositol, a carbohydrate naturally present in most tissues of the human body, can improve insulin sensitivity, metabolic profiles and natural conception rates among people with PCOS.Further, it has been hypothesized that a depletion of myo-inositol levels can lead to insulin resistance and thus increase the risk of pregnancy complications associated with PCOS.Read: The mysterious mental health applications of Vitamin B8“This (prior research) suggests that patients with PCOS may benefit from supplementation to compensate for this depletion,” the authors wrote.“In addition, individuals with a hyperandrogenic phenotype of PCOS, for whom pregnancy complications are particularly prevalent, may further benefit from myo-inositol supplementation due to its antiandrogenic effects.” However, the findings of the clinical trial, published in JAMA in September, suggest otherwise. The objective of the clinical trial was to determine whether daily supplementation of myo-inositol during pregnancy (from between eight to 16 weeks of gestation until delivery) in people with PCOS would reduce the incidence of a “composite outcome” of gestational diabetes, preeclampsia and premature birth. A total of 464 pregnant people living with PCOS were recruited for the study, which was conducted at 13 hospitals in the Netherlands between June 2019 and November 2023. About half of the participants were assigned to the intervention arm, which involved a daily intake of a total of four grams of myo-inositol supplementation and 0.4 milligrams of folic acid. (Four grams daily is approximately the amount of myo-inositol produced by the body naturally.)In the placebo group, supplements consisted of a daily dose of 0.4 milligrams of folic acid only, without any myo-inositol.In the end, the “composite outcome” of pregnancy complications affected 25% of participants in the intervention group compared with 26.8% of participants in the control arm.The study concluded that myo-inositol supplementation of four grams per day is “not associated with improved pregnancy outcomes and should not be recommended as dietary advice for pregnant people with PCOS.”

Myo-inositol doesn’t lower risk of pregnancy complications in PCOS patients: study

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