Abdalla MA, Shah N, Deshmukh H, et al. - Findings demonstrate significant effects of pharmacological interventions (including metformin, sitagliptin, pioglitazone, rosiglitazone orlistat and acarbose) on the anthropometric indices in women suffering from polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).

• In this systematic review and meta-analysis, 80 relevant RCTs were analyzed to determine the impact of different pharmacological interventions on the anthropometric indices in women with PCOS.

• Significant reduction in the mean body weight (MD: -3.13 kgs) and in mean body mass index (BMI) (MD: -0.75 kg/m ² ) was achieved with metformin use compared with placebo.

• Mean BMI decreased significantly with orlistat vs placebo (MD: -1.33 kg/m ² ), acarbose vs metformin (MD: -1.26 kg/m ² ), and metformin vs pioglitazone (MD: -0.91 kg/m ² ).

• With pioglitazone vs placebo and rosiglitazone vs metformin, a significant increase in the mean BMI was observed.

• Mean waist circumference (WC) decreased significantly with metformin vs placebo (MD: -1.21 cm) while a significant increase in the mean WC was observed with pioglitazone vs placebo (MD: +5.45 cm).