Antioxidants and management of polycystic ovary syndrome in Iran: A systematic review of clinical trials

BACKGROUND: Recently there is a focus on the antioxidants as adjuvant treatment of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), the most endocrinopathy in reproductive age women. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this review is answer to the question whether antioxidants are effective for managing of hormonal and metabolic problems in women with PCOS based on first degree evidences from Iran. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A systematic review of clinical trials was done in Persian and international databases including PubMed, Scientific Information Database, Google Scholar, Iran Medex, and Magiran up to 2013. Keywords were including polycystic ovary syndrome, Iran, vitamin, antioxidant. From 440 potential studies found electronically, 11 studies; including 444 women in intervention and 390 women in control groups. Intervention in three studies was Calcium-vitamin D or calcitriol; in three studies was ω-3 fatty acids; in two studies was N-acetyl cysteine; in one study was folic acid; in one study was Zinc; and in one study was Soy. RESULTS: Finally, 11 studies that were relevant and met the inclusion criteria reviewed. There were 7 studies in English and 4 studies in Persian. We couldn’t include all studies because all full texts were not accessible. CONCLUSION: The results showed that antioxidants and vitamins have positive effects on management of PCOS women. Although it seems more studies is necessary in this field.