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Effect of Orlistat Versus Metformin in Various Aspects of Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome: A Systematic Review of Randomized Control Trials

  • Systematic Review/Meta-analysis
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Abstract

Background

Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), a commonly prevalent endocrinopathy among reproductive age group women, is most often associated with obesity. Increased insulin resistance appears to be the central pathophysiologic mechanism responsible for various complications of PCOS. This makes ‘weight loss’ as the first-line treatment approach in PCOS. So various trials have tried to compare metformin (an insulin-sensitizing agent) and orlistat (an anti-obesity drug) aiming to achieve weight loss and hence higher ovulation rate for the group of obese PCOS patients. Keeping an eye on all these background facts, we designed this systematic review and metaanalysis to compare the effects of metformin and orlistat on various aspects of PCOS and to pick the better among the two drugs.

Materials and Methods

This is a systemic review of randomized control trials that studied the effectiveness of orlistat versus metformin in terms of improvement in ovulation rate, weight loss, lipid profile, etc. Systematic literature search over the period January 2000–December 2016 was performed in the following electronic databases: Medline, embase, google scholar, pubmed and The Cochrane Library and only randomized controlled clinical trials were included in our study. All authors carefully went through all sources of information independently.

Results

According to this study, weight loss, testosterone level after 4 weeks of treatment, total serum cholesterol and triglyceride level showed significant fall in orlistat-treated group.

Conclusion

Our review shows that orlistat is a more effective drug than metformin and should be the preferred drug in obese PCOS in combination with weight loss.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, IMS, BHU, Varanasi, UP, India

    Soumya Ranjan Panda, Madhu Jain, Shuchi Jain & Riden Saxena

  2. Department of Radiodiagnosis, IMS, BHU, Varanasi, UP, India

    Smrutismita Hota

Authors
  1. Soumya Ranjan Panda
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  2. Madhu Jain
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  3. Shuchi Jain
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  4. Riden Saxena
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  5. Smrutismita Hota
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Madhu Jain.

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Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Soumya Ranjan Panda is senior Resident, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, IMS, BHU, Varanasi, UP. Madhu Jain is a Professor and Head, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, IMS, BHU, Varanasi, UP. Shuchi Jain is an Assistant Professor, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, IMS, BHU, Varanasi, UP. Riden Saxena is a Phd Scholar, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, IMS, BHU, Varanasi, UP. Smrutismita Hota is a Junior Resident, Department of Radiodiagnosis, IMS, BHU, Varanasi, UP.

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Panda, S.R., Jain, M., Jain, S. et al. Effect of Orlistat Versus Metformin in Various Aspects of Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome: A Systematic Review of Randomized Control Trials. J Obstet Gynecol India 68, 336–343 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13224-018-1140-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13224-018-1140-6

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