Factors affecting the adoption of health-promoting behaviours in patients with polycystic ovary syndrome: a cross-sectional study

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate health-promoting lifestyle status and associated risk factors in patients with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING: This study was conducted at a tertiary hospital in Guizhou, China from December 2020 to June 2021. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 366 participants (18–45 years) diagnosed with PCOS were recruited from the outpatient departments. MEASURES: Sociodemographic characteristics were collected, and health-promoting behaviours were measured using the Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile scale. Anxiety status was measured using the Zung’s Self-Rating Anxiety Scale, depression status using the Zung’s Self-Rating Depression Scale and self-efficacy using the Managing Chronic Disease 6-Item Scale. Multiple stepwise linear regression was conducted to assess the risk factors associated with the health-promoting behaviours of the study participants. RESULTS: The participants had a poor health-promoting behaviours (88.54±17.44). The highest score in all dimensions was spiritual growth (16.68±4.98), while physical activity (12.71±2.68) was the lowest. Multiple regression analysis revealed that the main factors influencing the development and maintenance of health-promoting behaviours among participants were education (B=10.788, p<0.001), depression (B=−0.377, p<0.001), anxiety (B=−0.333, p<0.001) and self-efficacy (B=0.938, p=0.002). The model showed 74.40% variance shared between the dependent and independent variables (R(2)=74.40, F=264.633, p<0.001). CONCLUSION: Health-promoting behaviours are minimal among patients with PCOS, and improving negative emotions and enhancing behavioural awareness and self-efficacy are necessary to increase the adoption of health-promoting behaviours among patients with PCOS. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: ChiCTR2000034572.