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September 17, 2024
Beauty & Health Editor
Beauty & Health Editor
Hannah Frye is the Beauty & Health Editor at mindbodygreen. She has a B.S. in journalism and a minor in women’s, gender, and queer studies from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. Hannah has written across lifestyle sections including beauty, women’s health, mental health, sustainability, social media trends, and more. She previously worked for Almost 30, a top-rated health and wellness podcast. In her current role, Hannah reports on the latest beauty trends and innovations, women’s health research, brain health news, and plenty more.
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September 17, 2024
The most commonly discussed symptoms of PCOS, like irregular menstruation and acne, often overshadow other symptoms—especially those that impact the brain and cognition.
However, one longitudinal study including women with PCOS may help to change that. To come, the details of that study and where to go from here.
How PCOS can impact cognition
This research began back in 1985. It tracked over 1,000 women between the ages of 18 and 30 over 30 years and cumulated in a brain assessment (via cognitive testing and, in some cases, MRI scans).
After the study, they found that women with PCOS tended to have worse cognitive performance and lower white matter at midlife than those who did not, based on tests of verbal learning, memory, processing speed, executive functioning, attention, and more.
Factors like BMI, smoking and drinking status, and income were controlled for.
What is white matter?
White matter is critical to optimal brain health, even if gray matter gets more time in the spotlight. According to Cleveland Clinic, “The gray matter is the place where the processing of sensation, perception, voluntary movement, learning, speech and cognition takes place. White matter’s role is to provide communication between different gray matter areas and between gray matter and the rest of your body.”
It’s important to note that these findings (and many other studies about PCOS) are inherently complex given that PCOS can lead to several other health concerns already known to impact cognition, like diabetes3 and obesity4, for example.
Still, researchers note that “The PCOS associations with cognition were not meaningfully diminished when controlling for diabetes and other cardiovascular risk factors, including systolic blood pressure and adiposity.” This suggests that there’s much more to the correlation than these compounding health concerns.
Luckily, current physician recommendations for PCOS include both management of cardiovascular risk and screening for depression—a protocol that researchers from this study hope will simultaneously serve to improve brain aging.
Nevertheless, we must continue advocating for comprehensive, full-body, and mindful medical care for PCOS patients that goes beyond treating common symptoms like weight gain, acne, etc.
The more we can understand about PCOS, the closer we are to prevention and successful treatment for all.
3 ways to support brain health
Whether you have PCOS or not, making lifestyle changes to support brain aging is a worthwhile endeavor.
Below, three basic elements to focus on:
- Eat more brain foods: Eat a colorful diet with foods rich in omega-3s, polyphenols, and anti-inflammatory properties. A few great contenders include olive oil, avocado, blueberries, turmeric, dark chocolate, and so on. Here’s more to inspire your grocery list.
- Make exercise a top priority: Exercise not only can lower dementia risk and boost brain volume but also support your emotional well-being and overall longevity. So even if it’s just walking more tomorrow than you did today, it’s never too early to start getting more movement.
- Take sleep seriously: Getting at least seven hours of quality sleep per night has been linked to improved memory and reduced mental fatigue6. High-quality sleep also helps support hormonal balance7, which is key for easing other PCOS symptoms and supporting fertility.
Of course, these are just the starters. Plenty of people will greatly benefit from adding personalized lifestyle adjustments like brain health supplements, stress-relief activities, and workout plans as recommended by your doctor, physical trainer, or registered dietitian.
Editor’s note
When we refer to women in this article, we refer to those assigned female at birth (AFAB). The health-related correlations are exclusive to hormonal and chromosomal differences, not gender identity or expression.
The takeaway
One study found that women with PCOS had lower cognitive performance and lower white matter integrity at midlife.
More research is needed to understand the complex relationship between PCOS and brain health, especially given the compounding health concerns often associated with PCOS.