Simultaneous Comparison of Pharmacological Interventions in Obese Women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome: A Systematic Review and Network Meta-Analysis

So far various medicinal treatments have been introduced to treat obesity. In this study we compared the available drugs for the treatment of obesity in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).

This study was conducted using systematic review and network meta-analysis (NMA) methods. The major international databases including PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, Cochrane Library and Embase were searched, the search ending in March 2022. Only randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing medicinal interventions in women with PCOS were included in the study. Two of the researchers were responsible for screening the retrieved sources. The Cochrane tool was used to assess the risk of bias. The loop-specific and design by treatment interaction approaches were used to assess the consistency assumption. Treatments in each network were ranked using the P-score. The random effects model was used to report the results. The results were reported at %95 confidence interval (CI). I2 statistic was used to check the heterogeneity of the studies.

Out of the 9335 retrieved references, 9 studies met the eligibility criteria. There were two networks for the treatment of obesity in women with polycystic ovary syndrome: Liraglutide (1.2), [P-score=0.86, MD=-8.02(-20.99, 4.94)] as the best treatment in the first network, and Orlistat (120), [P-score=0.88, MD=-3.49 (-5.17, -1.81)] as the best treatment in the second network.

Based on the results of network meta-analysis, it seems that the best medicinal interventions for obesity in women with polycystic syndrome rare Liraglutide (1.2) and Orlistat (120).