INTRODUCTION:

Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) is an endocrine disorder affecting all age groups and presenting with myriad problems like menstrual irregularities, hirsuitism, anovulatory infertility and long term complications like diabetes, cardiovascular problems etc.¹PCOS was first described by Dr Irving Stein and Michael Leventhal in Chicago in 1935 referring to a condition suffered by women with menstrual dysfunction, obesity, hirsuitism and bilateral polycystic ovaries². Now PCOS is known as a multifaceted heterogeneous disorder and it is the single most common endocrinopathy in women of reproductive age group with evidence showing that 6-8% of women worldwide are affected.³

Many adolescent girls with polycystic ovarian syndrome are overweight /obese, and have a heightened risk for comorbidities such as dysglycaemia, dyslipidemia, fatty liver disease, sleep apnoea and cardiovascular diseases⁴.

It appears that several factors may be involved in its development. Perhaps the disease exists as a genetic predisposition in the person and its symptoms are exacerbated by environmental factors and lifestyle⁵. PCOS symptoms involve both endocrine and gynaecologic system; as amenorrhea or oligo amenorrhoea, hirsutism, obesity, acne, androgenic alopecia and reproductive disorders⁶. PCOS is not a disease exclusive to fertility and adolescence period; rather it can be associated with varying effects on a person's life. The main complications of the disease in adolescence are the incidence of amenorrhea, oligo menorrhea, hirsutism, obesity, and acne. In fertility ages, the patient’s chief complaint is infertility and irregular ovulation. The complications of adolescence ages still exist in this period. In pre-menopausal and post-menopausal ages, this syndrome can increase the risk of type 2 diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia, cardiovascular diseases and even endometrial cancer and possibly breast cancer⁷. In total, 30 to 40 percent of women with PCOS have experienced impaired glucose tolerance or diabetes before the age 40 years. Patients with PCOS are at risk for a group of metabolic disorders including insulin resistance, glucose intolerance impairment, diabetes, hypertension, lipid disorders, cardiovascular disease, and increased risk of endometrial, uterine, and breast cancers.

OBJECTIVES:

1. To evaluate the effectiveness of structured teaching programme on knowledge regarding PCOS in adolescent girls.

2. To find out the association between pre test knowledge of adolescent girls regarding PCOS with selected demographic variables.

MATERIALS AND METHODS:

Prior permission was obtained from the principal of Mercy College of Nursing, Kollam. The data collection was planned using a structured questionnaire on their knowledge regarding polycystic ovarian syndrome among first year B.Sc nursing students. The data was collected after obtaining administrative approval and consent from the principal of selected college. The period of data collection was one week. In this study simple random sampling method was used to select the samples. Pre test was conducted and on the same day STP was given. On eighth day post test was conducted using the same structured questionnaire.

RESULTS:

Table 1: Frequency and percentage distribution of demographic variables of adolescent girls (n=60)

Socio demographic variables

Frequency

Percentage

Age in years

18 yrs

19 yrs

26.6%

73.4%

Religion

Hindu

Christian

Muslim

61.7%

26.7%

11.6%

Area of residence

Urban

Rural

95%

Age of menarche

9-10 years

11-12 years

13-14 years

15-16 years

3.4%

41.6%

43.3%

11.6%

Education of mother

Secondary

Higher secondary

Degree

30%

38%

23%

Menstrual irregularities

Yes

96%

Previous knowledge on PCOS

Yes

45%

55%

Distribution of demographic variables of adolescent girls in the table 1 reveals that out of 60 samples 73.4% of samples were in the age group of 19 years. Most of the samples were Hindus (61.7%) and 26.7% of samples were Christians. Majority of the samples were residing in rural area. Around 43.3% of the samples attained menarche at 13-14 years whereas 41.6% attained at 11-12 years. Thirty-eight percentages of mothers had studied up to higher secondary level. Majority of the samples (96%) had no menstrual irregularities and 55% of the samples had no previous knowledge on PCOS.

Table 2. Distribution of samples according to level of knowledge regarding PCOS (n=60)

Level of knowledge	Pre test		Post test
Level of knowledge	Frequency	%	Frequency	%
Poor	37	61.6%	0	0
Average	24	38.4%	29	48.4%
Good	0	0	31	51.6%

Table 2 shows distribution of samples according to the level of knowledge regarding polycystic ovarian syndrome. Out of 60 samples 61.6% had poor knowledge in and 38.4% had average knowledge. Where as in the post test 51.6% had good knowledge and 48.4% had average knowledge and none of them had poor knowledge.

Table 3: Effectiveness of STP on knowledge regarding PCOS

Knowledge	Mean	SD	N	Mean diff.	T test	Table value
Pre test	13.25	3.5	60	9.91	14.15**	1.67
Post test	23.16	4.67	60	9.91	14.15**	1.67

** Significant at 0.05 level

Table 3 shows that pre test and post test mean is 13.25 and 23.16 respectively. The SD for pre test is 3.5 and post test is 4.67. The mean difference is 9.91. The‘t’ value is 14.15 and it is very significant. Hence it is concluded that the structured teaching programme was effective in increasing knowledge of adolescent girls regarding PCOS.

Table 4: Chi square value showing association between pre test level of knowledge and demographic variables.

Sr. no.	Demographic variables	Df	Chi square value	Level of significance
1	Age	3	8.44*	S
2	Religion	2	0.417	NS
3	Area of residence	1	0.42	NS
4	Age of menarche	3	2.29	NS
5	Education of mother	3	3.5	NS
6	Menstrual irregularities	1	0.5	NS
7	Previous knowledge on PCOS	1	0.77	NS

The data present in this table shows that there is a significant association between the pre test level of knowledge and age. There is no significant association with other demographic variables.

CONFLICT OF INTEREST:

No conflict of interest.

SOURCE OF SUPPORT:

Source of funding by itself.

CONCLUSION:

The following conclusions were drawn based on the findings of the study. The effectiveness of structured teaching programme on knowledge regarding management of polycystic ovarian syndrome was found with the help of‘t’ test. The result shows that the educational intervention on knowledge regarding PCOS is effective in enhancing knowledge among adolescent girls. With the help of chi-square test found that there is a significant association between pre test level of knowledge and age.

RECOMMENDATIONS:

· A similar study can be replicated on a large sample to generalize the findings.

· Interventional studies can be done to reduce the incidence of PCOS and thereby increases the fertility rate.

· Mass health education can be planned for the general public through mass media.

REFERENCES:

1. Rekha R Madusudhanan, Bindu Nambeeshan, Mayadevi Brahmanandan.Study on the prevalence and characteristics of metabolic syndrome in women of reproductive age group with polycystic ovarian syndrome. SAFOG 9(4); 2017oct-dec:341.

2. Rotterdam ESHRE/ASRM- sponsored PCOS consensus workshop. Revised 2003 consensus on diagnostic criteria and long term health risk related to polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Hum reprod 19(1); 2004: 41-47.

3. Asuncion M, Clavo RM, San Milian JL, Sancho J, Escobar-Morreale HF. A prospective study in the prevalence of the polycystic ovary syndrome in unselected Caucasian woman from Spain. J Clin Endocrin Metab.85(7); 2008 jul:2434-2438

4. Hecht, Arsalin, ‘optimal management of polycystic ovarian syndrome in adolescents”, 2015. Available from: URL:http://www.ncbi.nlm.gov/pubmed/26101431.

5. Lankarani M, Valizadeh N, Heshmat R, Shafaee AR, Amini MR, Ardeshir Larijani MB, et al. Evaluation of dyslipidemia in polycystic ovary syndrome. Iranian journal of reproductive medicine. Available from: URL:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4668346/

6. Arshad M, Moradi S, Ahmmadkhani A, Emami Z. Increased prevalence of depression in women with polycystic ovary syndrome. Iranian Journal of Endocrinology and Metabolism. 2012; 13:582–586.

7. Haji Shafiha M, Zabiri T, Salari Lak SH. Investigating validity criteria of vaginal ultrasound (ovarian volume, the ovarian stroma and the stromal surface of the ovary) in the diagnosis of polycystic ovary syndrome. Urmia Medical Journal. 2007; 3:538–543.

Received on 06.07.2018 Modified on 11.08.2018

Int. J. Nur. Edu. and Research. 2018; 6(4):360-362.

DOI: 10.5958/2454-2660.2018.00087.X