Latest news with #MaitreyiRedkar
NDTV
28-05-2025
- Health
- NDTV
PCOS Affects Memory And Attention Span, Finds New Study. How To Deal With It
PCOS or Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome is an endocrine disorder that affects one in five women, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). This figure shows just how common this condition is among women. While those with PCOS are familiar with symptoms like irregular periods and weight gain, a new study has found that it may even affect how your brain works. PCOS May Affect Your Brain Function: Study The hormonal imbalance caused by PCOS is often evident in physical symptoms such as irregular periods, weight gain, excessive hair growth, acne, and infertility. However, researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay have found that it may impact your ability to focus and react too. The study, titled The Impact of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome on Attention: An Empirical Investigation, was published in the journal, BioPsychosocial Medicine. What Led by Professor Azizuddin Khan and clinical psychologist and PhD scholar at IIT-B Maitreyi Redkar, the researchers compared two groups of women: 101 women with PCOS and 72 healthy women, who underwent the attention-based cognitive tests. It was found that PCOS can impair cognitive functions such as alertness and attention. The researchers discovered that women with PCOS were 56 percent slower than those without the condition. They were also found to make 7 percent more errors in focused attention tasks. Why PCOS Can Make It Harder To Focus Researchers at IIT Bombay linked mental fatigue associated with PCOS as a key factor affecting concentration. The condition may impact your memory and attention span, with severity depending on various individual factors. Professor Khan noted, "Its symptoms and severity vary depending on the hormonal profile, metabolic health, mental health, and socio-environmental conditions of the individual." NDTV spoke to Dr Tanveer Aujla, Senior Consultant, Obstetrician & Gynaecologist, Motherhood Hospitals, Noida, about why PCOS makes it difficult to focus. "PCOS can affect a woman's attention span, and this can be because of hormonal imbalance. Women tend to have higher androgens and insulin resistance, which can impact brain function, and they will be unable to focus. Some may have difficulty focusing, experience forgetfulness, or even brain fog. PCOS can also lead to anxiety, stress, and low attention span," says Dr Aujla. What Is PCOS Or Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome? The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defines PCOS as a condition where "cysts (small sacs of fluid) develop on the ovaries". It can cause irregular periods, and may also lead to infertility. According to the CDC, insulin resistance is common in women with PCOS, which can even lead to Type 2 diabetes. The CDC states that some women with PCOS may develop more serious health problems, including heart disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, sleep apnea, and stroke. It is important to manage the condition to avoid the consequences. How To Manage PCOS Symptoms And Improve Attention Span 1. Brain Games: Playing brain games can help you focus on attention and memory and improve response time and accuracy, according to the researchers of the study. 2. Reduce Stress: Stress can worsen PCOS symptoms, and in turn, affect focus. Practising relaxation techniques like meditation, deep breathing, or yoga may help reduce stress and improve memory and attention span. 3. Exercise Regularly: Since PCOS is a lifestyle-related condition, physical activity is key to managing symptoms. As per a study published in the Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, women with PCOS should aim for: 150-300 minutes of moderate-intensity or, 75-150 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic activity per week. You can also do a combination of different activities after consulting your healthcare provider. 4. Eat A Healthy Diet: Nutrition plays a vital role in managing PCOS. According to John Hopkins Medicine, you should eat more Whole grains Fresh fruits Non-starchy vegetables such as leafy greens, tomatoes, cauliflower, etc. Omega-3 fatty acids, olive oils, fibre, and protein-rich foods. You should also avoid added sugars and refined carbs. 5. Manage Your Weight: While PCOS can make weight management challenging, maintaining a healthy weight through lifestyle changes, including diet and exercise, is essential. A study published in BMC Endocrine Disorders highlights weight management is a good way to manage PCOS. 6. Improve Sleep Hygiene: Establishing a regular sleep schedule that includes going to bed and waking up at the same time may help. A study published in the International Journal of Preventive Medicine found that good sleep is crucial for PCOS management. Symptoms of PCOS - and the best ways to manage them - can vary significantly from one person to another. It is always best to consult your doctor before making any changes to your lifestyle or daily routine.
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Business Standard
27-05-2025
- Health
- Business Standard
Beyond hormones: PCOS may impair brain function, says new IIT study
A new IIT-Bombay study reveals that women with PCOS experience slower reaction times and reduced attention span, highlighting that the condition impacts women beyond hormones and periods New Delhi If you're living with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS), you've probably heard a lot about its effects on your hormones, periods or weight. But here's something new that you may not have expected. A new research has shown that it can affect how well you focus and react too. A study by the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay, titled The impact of polycystic ovary syndrome on attention: an empirical investigation, recently published in the journal BioPsychosocial Medicine, shows that PCOS may also impair cognitive functions like attention and alertness. In fact, women with PCOS were found to react 56 per cent slower and make 7 per cent more errors than women without the condition in focused attention tasks. IIT-Bombay study shows PCOS slows focus and reaction time Researchers at IIT Bombay, led by Professor Azizuddin Khan and clinical psychologist and PhD scholar at IIT-B, Maitreyi Redkar, compared two groups: 101 women with PCOS and 72 women without the condition. All participants were tested on tasks measuring attention—specifically focused and divided attention—after assessing their hormonal levels. In focused attention tests, PCOS participants were about 55.96 per cent slower than the control group, with 7 per cent more errors. PCOS is common and affects 1 in 9 Indian women PCOS is a common hormonal disorder that affects women of reproductive age. It's typically diagnosed when at least two of the following are present: irregular or missed periods, excess levels of male hormones (androgens), and polycystic ovaries seen on ultrasound. According to a December 2022 study published in Cureus, the prevalence of PCOS among Indian women is approximately 11.33 per cent—or one in every nine women of reproductive age. PCOS symptoms go beyond weight and hormones PCOS can cause a range of symptoms, from acne and weight gain to fertility issues, and is linked to insulin resistance, which can lead to type 2 diabetes. Now, the IIT-Bombay study suggests that its impact may go beyond the physical, potentially impairing mental functions like attention and cognitive control. Attention is key to everyday brain function According to IIT-Bombay, attention is your brain's way of filtering what's important from all the noise around you. It's the foundation of tasks like listening in class, focusing on a conversation or driving. Focused attention helps you concentrate on one task while ignoring distractions. Divided attention allows you to juggle more than one task at a time, like cooking while talking on the phone. Hormonal and metabolic changes in PCOS affect the brain The researchers suggest two key factors behind the drop in attention performance: Hormonal imbalance: Women with PCOS typically have elevated androgen levels, which may interfere with normal brain function. Insulin resistance: Common in PCOS, this impairs glucose metabolism in the brain. Neurons (brain cells) don't get the fuel they need, leading to slower mental processing. Mental fatigue, anxiety and frustration—all common in PCOS—can further worsen cognitive tasks, especially those requiring multitasking or memory. PCOS may explain brain fog and forgetfulness in daily life From remembering directions while driving to forgetting why you walked into a room, these little things depend on working memory and attention.
The Hindu
27-05-2025
- Health
- The Hindu
PCOS could lead to decreased alertness and longer reaction times: study
A recent study revealed that hormonal imbalance associated with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) could lead to decreased alertness and longer reaction times, likely to compromise attention-based tasks in affected women. The task-based tests suggest that PCOS impacts women's focused and divided attention, decreasing the speed of response by about 56% and accuracy by about 10%. The study explores the effect of PCOS on attention, as attention is the 'precursor for all vital cognitive processing—receiving, understanding, and making sense of the information' and divided attention helps to 'handle and respond to multiple tasks'. The study authored by Maitreyi Redkar and Azizuddin Khan at the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT Bombay) assessed the impact of PCOS on focused and divided attention. The findings highlight that decreased accuracy in divided attention tasks may influence working memory, which hinders holding the information temporarily, making daily activities such as keeping track of directions challenging. 'Despite the variability in PCOS symptoms and their severity, the impairments in the core cognitive abilities of attention and processing speed seem to be prevalent across women,' adds Prof. Khan. Inferences of the study 101 women with PCOS and 72 healthy women participated in the study and underwent the attention tasks. Before the test, the hormonal levels of all the women were assessed before the study. Women with PCOS showed over a 50% slower response and made about 10% more errors than the healthy ones in the focused attention test. Similarly, PCOS women performed about 20% slowly, with 3% extra errors in the divided attention task, as per the study. Among the two types of attention, PCOS women performed poorer in focused attention. Along with elevated androgen levels, the participants with PCOS had insulin resistance that is linked to attention. The study also pointed out that insulin resistance causes poor glucose metabolism and affects brain cell (neuron) activity, leading to poor performance in focused attention tasks. Mental fatigue linked to PCOS, such as anxiety and frustration, makes divided attention tasks more challenging. How was the study conducted? For conducting the study, the researchers used two tests- the Flanker Task and the Posner Cueing Task- While the Flanker Task assesses the participant's ability to avoid distracting stimuli while focusing only on the important information, the Posner Cueing task evaluates how quickly the participants focus on the correct spot and how efficiently they shift their focus from the wrong one. The test included a task, focusing on the centre of the screen (central fixation point) with two boxes on either side. The participants will receive a cue, such as an arrow or a flash, followed by a target stimulus in one of the boxes. The participants should quickly press the corresponding arrow key. 'In this task, the participants are instructed to focus on a target stimulus (usually an arrow or a letter) that appears in the middle of a row while ignoring the distracting stimulus on either side (the 'flankers'). For example, if the participant is shown '→→→→→', the middle arrow is easy to identify. However, if they are shown'←←→←←', the surrounding arrows point the other way, making it harder to concentrate and respond accurately,' adds Prof. Khan. The task-based tests drew inferences that women with PCOS are slower to react and more easily distracted than their healthy counterparts. 'The cognitive experiments are specifically designed to capture the subtle millisecond-level differences in how individuals respond to critical stimuli. These minute delays reveal significant impairments in attention, which may impact our real-life functioning,' said Prof. Khan. The findings emphasise the need to understand PCOS as a complex medical condition that not only affects physical health but also cognitive health.
Time of India
26-05-2025
- Health
- Time of India
PCOS affects women's speed of response by 50 pc, accuracy by 10 pc: IIT Bombay research
Mumbai: Polycystic Ovary Syndrome or PCOS impacts women's focus by decreasing speed of response by about 56 per cent and accuracy by about 10 per cent, researchers from Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT Bombay) said. PCOS is an endocrine disorder in women, with symptoms like irregular or absent periods, polycystic ovaries, and increased levels of male hormone (androgen). The findings emphasise the need to understand PCOS as a complex medical condition that not only affects physical but also cognitive health. In their recent study, Maitreyi Redkar and Prof Azizuddin Khan from the Psychophysiology Laboratory, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences at IIT Bombay found that women with PCOS are slower to react and more easily distracted than their healthy counterparts. They assessed women with attention tasks after dividing them in two groups, 101 women with PCOS and 72 healthy women. "The cognitive experiments are specifically designed to capture the subtle millisecond-level differences in how individuals respond to critical stimuli. These minute delays reveal significant impairments in attention, which may impact our real-life functioning. In the specific context of focused attention, it is not just about concentrating on the task at hand to respond at the right time, but also inhibiting irrelevant distractors," said Prof Khan, who led the research. Researchers used two task-based tests, the Flanker Task and the Posner Cueing Task, to test PCOS and healthy individuals for accuracy and response time. It was found that women with PCOS showed over a 50 per cent slower response and made about 10 per cent more errors than the healthy ones in the focused attention test. Similarly, PCOS women performed about 20 per cent slowly, with 3 per cent extra errors in the divided attention task. Among the two types of attention, PCOS women performed poorer in focused attention, the research revealed. The hormonal imbalance associated with PCOS could lead to decreased alertness and longer reaction times. Along with elevated androgen levels, the participants with PCOS had insulin resistance that is linked to attention. Insulin resistance causes poor glucose metabolism and affects brain cell (neuron) activity, leading to poor performance in focused attention tasks. "PCOS is a heterogeneous condition, which means that its symptoms and severity vary depending on the hormonal profile, metabolic health, mental health and socio-environmental conditions of the individual. Despite the variability in PCOS symptoms and their severity, the impairments in the core cognitive abilities of attention and processing speed seem to be prevalent across women," Prof Khan said. While the challenges of low accuracy and slow response time seem daunting, playing brain games focusing on attention and memory can improve response time and accuracy, the research revealed. "Increasing physical activity levels, maintaining a nutritious diet, and reducing weight are beneficial not just for PCOS symptoms but also for cognitive health. Even improving sleep hygiene contributes significantly to improving attentional accuracy and reaction time," Prof Khan added.
NDTV
26-05-2025
- Health
- NDTV
PCOS In Women Tied To Attention, Cognitive Issues: Study
New Delhi: Polycystic Ovary Syndrome or PCOS, a common endocrine disorder in women, can affect attention and other cognitive abilities, according to a study by researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay on Monday. Women with PCOS often suffer from irregular or absent periods, polycystic ovaries, and increased levels of male hormone (androgen). While previous research showed an increased level of anxiety and depression among women with PCOS, the new study focussed on attention -- the precursor for all vital cognitive processing such as receiving, understanding, and making sense of the information. Maitreyi Redkar and Prof Azizuddin Khan from the Psychophysiology Laboratory, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences at the IIT Bombay assessed two groups of participants -- 101 women with PCOS and 72 healthy women. The team mapped their hormonal levels before the study and subjected them to attention tasks. They found that PCOS are slower to react and more easily distracted than their healthy counterparts. Women with PCOS showed over a 50 per cent slower response and made about 10 per cent more errors than the healthy ones in the focused attention test. Similarly, PCOS women performed about 20 per cent slowly, with 3 per cent extra errors in the divided attention task, the researchers said. "The cognitive experiments are specifically designed to capture the subtle millisecond-level differences in how individuals respond to critical stimuli. These minute delays reveal significant impairments in attention, which may impact our real-life functioning," said Prof. Khan, who led the study. "In the specific context of focused attention, it is not just about concentrating on the task at hand to respond at the right time, but also inhibiting irrelevant distractors," he added. The researchers explained that the hormonal imbalance associated with PCOS could lead to decreased alertness and longer reaction times. Along with elevated androgen levels, the participants with PCOS had insulin resistance that is linked to attention. Insulin resistance causes poor glucose metabolism and affects brain cell (neuron) activity, leading to poor performance in focused attention tasks. Mental fatigue linked to PCOS, such as anxiety and frustration, makes divided attention tasks more challenging. The finding highlights that decreased accuracy in divided attention tasks may influence working memory, which hinders holding the information temporarily. This makes daily activities such as keeping track of directions while driving or remembering a phone number to dial more challenging, the researchers said.
