Understanding pain in women with polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome: health risks and treatment effectiveness

  1. Tess Cherlin
  2. Stephanie Mohammed
  3. Samantha Strydesky
  4. Sasha Ottey
  5. Katherine Sherif
  6. Shefali Setia Verma  Is a corresponding author
  1. Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine, United States
  2. PCOS Challenge: The National Polycystic Ovary Syndrome Association, United States
  3. Department of Medicine, Sidney Kimmel Medicine College, Thomas Jefferson University, United States
4 figures, 5 tables and 1 additional file

Figures

Future health outcomes associated with PMOS and PMOS + Pain.

(A) Analysis pipeline to calculate relative risk ratios (RR) for future health outcomes in PMOS (green) and PMOS and Pain (blue) cohorts for the 103,675,738 women queried. STEP 1 shows the number of women in the case and controls for both the PMOS (green) and PMOS and Pain (blue) cohorts. STEP 2 shows the number of cases and controls after 1:1 propensity score matching. STEP 3 shows the different future health conditions that were considered for future health outcomes. STEP 4 shows that the final step is calculating the relative risk for the future health outcomes. Popout box is a schematic representing how events were indexed in TriNetX for both the PMOS (green) and PMOS and Pain (blue) cohorts. (B) Relative risk ratios (RR) (x-axis) for future health outcomes (y-axis) for both PMOS (green) and PMOS and Pain (blue) cohorts. Darker hued circles indicate RR, while lighter hued boxes indicate the 95% confidence intervals. The black dashed line is set 1 and is the threshold for RR, where >1 is increased RR and <1 is decreased RR.

Prevalence of PMOS, PMOS and Pain, and associated conditions.

(A) Bar plots show the prevalence (%) of overall PMOS (green) and PMOS and Pain (blue) stratified by 10-year age groups. The total number of women with PMOS is 576,876 and the total number of women with PMOS and Pain is 171,326. (B) Bar plots show the prevalence (%) (left y-axis) of different diseases associated with PMOS (green) and PMOS and Pain (blue) (x-axis). The purple line indicates the prevalence fold-change between the PMOS and PMOS and Pain cohorts (right y-axis).

Self-reported race-stratified relative risk ratios for future health outcomes.

(A) Self-reported race-stratified TriNetX relative risk ratio analysis pipeline for future health outcomes in PMOS and Pain cohorts. Colors represent different self-reported race groups: Asian (orange), Black or African American (yellow), Other (red), White (purple). (B) Relative risk ratios (RR) for future health outcomes (y-axis) stratified by self-reported race. Colors represent different self-reported race groups (x-axis): Asian (orange), Black or African American (yellow), Other (red), White (purple). Error bars represent the 95% confidence intervals. Significant differences between RR are represented by asterisks (*), where p-value ≤0.05 = *, p-value ≤0.005 = **, p-value ≤0.0005 = ***, and -value ≤0.00005 = ****. Red dashed line is set 1 and is the threshold for RR, where >1 is increased RR and <1 is decreased RR.

Figure 3—source data 1

This file contains the relative risk ratios (RR) and 95% confidence intervals for the race-stratified PMOS and Pain cohort compared to controls.

https://cdn.elifesciences.org/articles/103875/elife-103875-fig3-data1-v1.docx
Figure 3—source data 2

This file contains the signficance values for future health RR differences between each self-reported race group combination with PMOS and Pain cohort compared to controls.

https://cdn.elifesciences.org/articles/103875/elife-103875-fig3-data2-v1.docx
Prevalence of Pain for women with PMOS before and after medications.

(A) Schematic representing how the PMOS and medication events were indexed in TriNetX for both abdominal and pelvic pain and dysmenorrhea. (B) Prevalence (%) changes (y-axis) of pain for women with PMOS cohort before and after prescription of COCPs (yellow), metformin (purple), and spironolactone (orange) (x-axis). Analysis was done separately for abdominal and pelvic pain (solid lines) and dysmenorrhea (dashed lines).

Tables

Table 1
Inclusion and exclusion criteria for PMOS (top) and PMOS and Pain (bottom) cases and control cohorts.
PMOSNo PMOS
InclusionFemaleFemale
PCOS diagnosis (ICD 10 Code E28.2)
Irregular menstruation (ICD 10 Code N92.6) and hirsutism (ICD 10 Code L68.0) or irregular menstruation (ICD 10 Code N92.6) and androgen excess (ICD 10 Code)
ExclusionEndometriosis (ICD 10 Code N80)PCOS diagnosis (ICD 10 Code E28.2)
Uterine fibroids (ICD 10 Code D25, O34.1, O34.11, O34.10)Irregular menstruation (ICD 10 Code N92.6) and hirsutism (ICD 10 Code L68.0)
Polyp of corpus uteri (ICD 10 Code N84.0)Irregular menstruation (ICD 10 Code N92.6) and androgen excess
Pelvic inflammation (ICD 10 Code N73.9)Endometriosis (ICD 10 Code N80), uterine fibroids (ICD 10 Code D25, O34.1), polyp of corpus uteri (ICD 10 Code N84.0), pelvic inflammation (ICD 10 Code N73.9), hypothyroidism (ICD 10 Code E03.8, E03.9), hyperprolactinemia (ICD 10 Code E22.1), adrenal hyperplasia (ICD 10 Code E27.8, Q89.1)
PMOS and PainPMOS
InclusionFemaleFemale
PCOS diagnosis (ICD 10 Code E28.2)PCOS Diagnosis (ICD 10 Code E28.2)
Irregular menstruation (ICD 10 Code N92.6) and hirsutism (ICD 10 Code L68.0) or irregular menstruation (ICD 10 Code N92.6) and androgen excess (ICD 10 Code)Irregular menstruation (ICD 10 Code N92.6) and hirsutism (ICD 10 Code L68.0) or irregular menstruation (ICD 10 Code N92.6) and androgen excess (ICD 10 Code)
Abdominal and pelvic pain (ICD Code 10 R10) or dysmenorrhea (ICD Code 10 N94.6)
ExclusionEndometriosis (ICD 10 Code N80), uterine fibroids (ICD 10 Code D25, O34.1, O34.11, O34.10), hypothyroidism (ICD 10 Code E03.8, E03.9), pelvic inflammation (ICD 10 Code N73.9), hyperprolactinemia (ICD 10 Code E22.1), adrenal hyperplasia (ICD 10 Code E27.8, Q89.1), polyp of corpus uteri (ICD 10 Code N84.0)Endometriosis (ICD 10 Code N80), uterine fibroids (ICD 10 Code D25, O34.1, O34.11, O34.10), hypothyroidism (ICD 10 Code E03.8, E03.9), pelvic inflammation (ICD 10 Code N73.9), hyperprolactinemia (ICD 10 Code E22.1), adrenal hyperplasia (ICD 10 Code E27.8, Q89.1), polyp of corpus uteri (ICD 10 Code N84.0)
Abdominal and pelvic pain (ICD Code 10 R10) or dysmenorrhea (ICD Code 10 N94.6)
Table 2
Demographic results for PMOS case and control cohorts before and after 1:1 propensity score matching.

For each cohort analysis, cases were matched on the following criteria: age at the index event, self-reported race, overweight, obesity, and other hyperalimentation (ICD-10-CM E65-E69) status, type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D) (ICD-10-CM E11) status, essential (primary) hypertension (ICD-10-CM I10) status, and hyperlipidemia, unspecified (ICD-10-CM E78.5) status. Baseline conditions were assessed up to 1 day before the index event.

BeforeAfter
Characteristic IDCharacteristic namePMOS% PMOSNo PMOS% No PMOSp-valueSDPMOS% PMOSNo PMOS% No PMOSp-valueSD
Total576,8768168013565,077565,077
AIAge at index28.13 (±9.04)43.31 (±20.07)28.15 (±9.03)28.16 (±9.04)2.86E-010.00201
1002–5American Indian or Alaska Native28430.50%22,8780.29%0.00E+000.0347928430.50%16920.30%0.00E+000.03222
2028–9Asian27,4104.85%318,4813.97%0.00E+000.0429627,3974.85%27,9514.95%1.57E-020.00454
2054–5Black or African American74,37613.15%940,27111.71%0.00E+000.0438074,33513.16%74,97213.27%7.68E-020.00333
2076–8Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander28100.50%22,9620.29%0.00E+000.0338028100.50%17040.30%0.00E+000.03104
2131–1Other race35,1556.22%386,3804.81%0.00E+000.0616135,0706.21%34,7176.14%1.68E-010.00260
UNKUnknown race91,10116.11%1,792,17022.31%0.00E+000.1579791,10016.12%92,81016.42%1.31E-050.00820
2106–3White331,86258.68%4,549,06056.64%0.00E+000.04137331,52258.67%331,23158.62%5.78E-010.00105
Other131,90923%2,224,39028%131,82323%130,92323%
2186–5Not Hispanic or Latino356,04262.95%4,273,95253.21%0.00E+000.198447355,74562.96%315,83755.89%0.00E+000.144199
UNUnknown ethnicity141,79925.07%3,286,98240.92%0.00E+000.341983141,76125.09%201,80835.71%0.00E+000.232572
2135–2Hispanic or Latino67,71611.97%471,2685.87%0.00E+000.21546167,57111.96%47,4328.39%0.00E+000.118087
E65-E68Overweight, obesity, and other hyperalimentation92,04216.28%718,8668.95%0.00E+000.2219991,56216.20%91,39316.17%6.66E-010.00081
I10Essential (primary) hypertension33,5615.93%1,233,00315.35%0.00E+000.3089833,5545.94%33,5315.93%9.27E-010.00017
E11Type 2 diabetes mellitus19,8803.52%442,6205.51%0.00E+000.0962419,8473.51%20,4623.62%1.81E-030.00587
E78.5Hyperlipidemia, unspecified16,7342.96%737,7529.19%0.00E+000.2629516,7332.96%16,3552.89%3.49E-020.00397
R10Abdominal and pelvic pain100,80717.82%1,122,83213.98%0.00E+000.10530100,66117.81%99,78117.66%3.02E-020.00408
N94.6Dysmenorrhea, unspecified16,1072.85%137,8981.72%0.00E+000.0758016,0702.84%18,8703.34%0.00E+000.02863
N97Female infertility13,2442.34%34,4470.43%0.00E+000.1642113,2412.34%43330.77%0.00E+000.12767
N83Noninflammatory disorders of ovary, fallopian tube and broad ligament22,1603.92%138,2661.72%0.00E+000.1330022,1443.92%15,0982.67%0.00E+000.06989
HS200Contraceptives,
systemic
84,14714.88%651,8198.12%0.00E+000.2132484,07614.88%91,95416.27%0.00E+000.03845
6809Metformin38,5516.82%260,7733.25%0.00E+000.1638638,5066.81%14,5892.58%0.00E+000.20104
9997Spironolactone17,8193.15%103,2471.29%0.00E+000.1269117,8133.15%70631.25%0.00E+000.12994
Table 3
Demographic and baseline characteristics for PMOS and Pain case and control cohorts before and after 1:1 propensity score matching.

For each cohort analysis, cases were matched on the following criteria: age at the index event, self-reported race, overweight, obesity, and other hyperalimentation (ICD-10-CM E65-E69) status, type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D) (ICD-10-CM E11) status, essential (primary) hypertension (ICD-10-CM I10) status, and hyperlipidemia, unspecified (ICD-10-CM E78.5) status. Baseline conditions were assessed up to 1 day before the index event.

BeforeAfter
Characteristic IDCharacteristic namePMOS +Pain% PMOS +PainPMOS - Pain% PMOS - Painp-valueSDPMOS +Pain% PMOS +PainPMOS - Pain% PMOS - Painp-valueSD
Total171,326410,515164,744164,744
AIAge at index28.53 (±8.78)28.41 (±9.20)100%3.08E-060.013628.39 (±8.81)28.40 (±9.03)100%8.48E-010.00067
1002–5American Indian or Alaska Native9500.56%19310.48%1.34E-040.01099330.57%7400.45%2.24E-060.01649
2028–9Asian60753.58%21,4995.36%0.00E+000.086260443.67%59693.63%4.86E-010.00243
2054–5Black or African American24,69214.55%50,82712.67%0.00E+000.054823,65714.37%25,05015.21%8.05E-120.02383
2076–8Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander9370.55%19270.48%4.57E-040.01009280.56%7560.46%2.64E-050.01465
2131–1Other race10,9356.44%24,5956.13%8.34E-060.012810,6376.46%10,5956.43%7.66E-010.00104
UNKUnknown race22,17413.06%69,03417.21%0.00E+000.115822,04313.39%22,10713.43%7.43E-010.00114
2106–3White104,00361.26%231,43957.68%0.00E+000.0730100,42860.99%99,45360.40%5.04E-040.01212
Other34,99621%97,48724%34,54121%34,19821%
2186–5Not Hispanic or Latino109,68964.59%250,68262.40%00.045105,91264.29%106,37864.57%0.089919170.0059
UNUnknown ethnicity36,48021.48%106,15226.43%00.11635,80721.74%38,63723.45%4.4381E-320.0411
2135–2Hispanic or Latino23,66213.93%44,88111.17%00.08323,02513.98%19,72911.98%00.0596
E65-E68Overweight, obesity, and other hyperalimentation57,50833.88%58,70514.63%0.00E+000.460852,44331.85%52,51231.89%7.96E-010.00090
I10Essential (primary) hypertension21,09412.43%20,9625.22%0.00E+000.255917,41110.57%17,86810.85%1.00E-020.00897
E11Type 2 diabetes mellitus13,3167.84%12,4213.10%0.00E+000.210010,8266.57%10,5296.39%3.56E-020.00732
E78.5Hyperlipidemia, unspecified12,5487.39%10,7652.68%0.00E+000.216599946.07%96485.86%1.09E-020.00887
R10Abdominal and pelvic pain73,58843.35%38,1489.51%0.00E+000.831071,13643.20%20,71012.58%0.00E+000.72651
N94.6Dysmenorrhea, unspecified12,0107.07%53911.34%0.00E+000.288411,7047.11%29771.81%0.00E+000.25894
N97Female infertility10,0475.92%94432.35%0.00E+000.179896895.88%43052.61%0.00E+000.16263
N83Noninflammatory disorders of ovary, fallopian tube, and broad ligament18,08010.65%98512.46%0.00E+000.335817,40110.57%51463.13%0.00E+000.29795
HS200Contraceptives, systemic50,15829.55%54,52013.59%0.00E+000.395548,36529.37%26,56816.13%0.00E+000.31975
6809Metformin29,03917.11%26,5836.63%0.00E+000.328426,67916.20%147358.95%0.00E+000.22008
9997Spironolactone12,5367.38%12,6203.15%0.00E+000.190711,7807.15%58893.58%0.00E+000.15927
Table 4
Counts and prevalence (%) of PMOS and Pain cases and controls (PMOS without Pain) for self-reported race groups.
Self-reported race groupPMOS + PainPMOS - PainPrevalence (%)
Asian6,07521,49922.03
Black or African American24,69250,82732.70
Other34,99697,48726.42
White104,003231,43931.00
Table 5
Relative risk ratios (RR) for PMOS and PMOS and Pain cases and control cohorts.

Significant differences in RR between PMOS and PMOS and Pain cohorts are bolded.

OutcomesCohort namePatients in cohortPatients with outcomeRisk (%)Relative risk ratio (RR)95% CI (lower)95% CI (upper)p-Value
Abdominal and pelvic painPMOS + pain00NANANANA
Abdominal and pelvic painPMOS - pain141,39913,5999.6
Abdominal and pelvic painPMOS overall412,54886,59721.01.151.141.16
Abdominal and pelvic painPMOS controls434,89679,26918.2
Acute pharyngitisPMOS + pain129,72817,52213.51.621.581.651.64e-397
Acute pharyngitisPMOS - pain144,68812,0968.4
Acute pharyngitisPMOS overall499,24152,25210.50.850.840.86
Acute pharyngitisPMOS controls478,55158,93812.3
AnxietyPMOS + pain110,68722,19320.11.371.351.392.33E-11
AnxietyPMOS - pain127,31618,63114.6
AnxietyPMOS overall446,95376,64117.11.111.101.12
AnxietyPMOS controls446,11968,74515.4
DepressionPMOS + pain124,61817,01513.71.431.401.471.72E-05
DepressionPMOS - pain137,97813,1369.5
DepressionPMOS overall480,63255,08511.51.231.211.24
DepressionPMOS controls487,28945,4859.3
Essential hypertensionPMOS + pain143,08111,6758.21.191.161.224.96E-56
Essential hypertensionPMOS - pain140,51996116.8
Essential hypertensionPMOS overall507,32039,0647.71.551.521.57
Essential hypertensionPMOS controls522,01925,9715.0
GERDPMOS + pain130,54917,38613.31.801.761.842.52E-48
GERDPMOS - pain147,02910,8737.4
GERDPMOS overall506,26950,43810.01.321.301.33
GERDPMOS controls516,30439,0417.6
InfertilityPMOS + pain164,74493585.71.041.011.076.04e-820
InfertilityPMOS - pain164,74490055.5
InfertilityPMOS overall530,18622,0144.23.553.453.64
InfertilityPMOS controls559,22465481.2
Kidney diseasePMOS + pain163,27914090.91.351.241.466.64E-02
Kidney diseasePMOS - pain163,52910470.6
Kidney diseasePMOS overall561,79038840.71.231.181.29
Kidney diseasePMOS controls561,94131480.6
Liver diseasePMOS + pain153,38582875.41.881.821.951.35E-23
Liver diseasePMOS - pain159,44945762.9
Liver diseasePMOS overall548,04321,6764.02.252.202.30
Liver diseasePMOS controls557,91598061.8
ObesityPMOS + pain99,16520,22320.41.111.091.132.07e-506
ObesityPMOS - pain92,47517,00318.4
ObesityPMOS overall391,39380,99720.72.001.982.03
ObesityPMOS controls444,13745,84910.3
Ovarian cystsPMOS +pain138,61710,6017.62.232.162.302.24E-36
Ovarian cystsPMOS - pain156,50553793.4
Ovarian cystsPMOS overall527,15229,0475.51.561.531.59
Ovarian cystsPMOS controls547,04319,3473.5
T2DPMOS +Pain150,91978825.21.121.081.154.28e-453
T2DPMOS - Pain149,58669894.7
T2DPMOS Overall528,76927,1245.12.772.712.84
T2DPMOS Controls541,29910,0181.9

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  1. Tess Cherlin
  2. Stephanie Mohammed
  3. Samantha Strydesky
  4. Sasha Ottey
  5. Katherine Sherif
  6. Shefali Setia Verma
(2026)
Understanding pain in women with polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome: health risks and treatment effectiveness
eLife 14:RP103875.
https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.103875.3