Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2023 Jan 28;20(3):2309.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph20032309.

Capability, Opportunity, and Motivation-Identifying Constructs for Increasing Physical Activity Behaviours in Women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS)

Chris Kite  1   2   3 , Lou Atkinson  4   5 , Gordon McGregor  3   4   6 , Cain C T Clark  2   7 , Harpal S Randeva  2   4 , Ioannis Kyrou  2   3   4   8   9
Affiliations

Capability, Opportunity, and Motivation-Identifying Constructs for Increasing Physical Activity Behaviours in Women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS)

Chris Kite et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is the commonest endocrinopathy in reproductive-aged women. Because increased adiposity is pivotal in the severity of PCOS-related symptoms, treatment usually incorporates increasing energy expenditure through physical activity (PA). This study aimed to understand the reasons why women with PCOS engage in PA/exercise, which could support the development of targeted behavioural interventions in this at-risk population. Validated questionnaires were administered for self-reported PA levels, quality of life, mental health, illness perception, sleep quality, and capability, opportunity, and motivation (COM) for PA. Using categorical PA data, outcomes were compared between groups; ordinal logistic regression (OLR) was used to identify whether COM could explain PA categorisation. A total of 333 participants were eligible; favourable differences were reported for body mass index, depression, mental wellbeing, self-rated health, illness perception, and insomnia severity for those reporting the highest PA levels. COM scores increased according to PA categorisation, whilst OLR identified conscious and automatic motivation as explaining the largest PA variance. The most active participants reported favourable data for most outcomes. However, determining whether health is protected by higher PA or ill health is a barrier to PA was not possible. These findings suggest that future behavioural interventions should be targeted at increasing patient motivation.

Keywords: behaviour change; exercise; health promotion; intervention design; quality of life.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Kyrou I., Weickert M.O., Randeva H.S. Endocrinology and Diabetes. Springer; Berlin/Heidelberg, Germany: 2015. Diagnosis and management of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) pp. 99–113.
    1. Lizneva D., Suturina L., Walker W., Brakta S., Gavrilova-Jordan L., Azziz R. Criteria, prevalence, and phenotypes of polycystic ovary syndrome. Fertil. Steril. 2016;106:6–15. doi: 10.1016/j.fertnstert.2016.05.003. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Kyritsi E.M., Dimitriadis G.K., Kyrou I., Kaltsas G., Randeva H.S. PCOS Remain. a diagnosis of exclusion: A concise review of key endocrinopathies to exclude. Clin. Endocrinol. 2017;86:1–6. doi: 10.1111/cen.13245. - DOI - PubMed
    1. The Rotterdam ESHRE/ASRM-Sponsored PCOS consensus workshop group Revised 2003 consensus on diagnostic criteria and long-term health risks related to polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) Hum. Reprod. 2004;19:41–47. doi: 10.1093/humrep/deh098. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Barber T.M., Franks S. Obesity and polycystic ovary syndrome. Clin. Endocrinol. 2021;95:531–541. doi: 10.1111/cen.14421. - DOI - PubMed

Publication types

Grants and funding

This research was partly funded by the General Charities of the City of Coventry (6/2020) and ResMed (6/2020).