Patient Attitudes

Most participants held positive attitudes toward lifestyle management, with 96.11% recognising healthy eating, 94.68% recognising exercise, and 81.59% recognising weight control as important for treating PCOS and improving acne symptoms. The mean attitude score was moderate at 22.37 out of 30. Many patients recognised the importance of dietary and lifestyle changes but also experienced concern or distress. Higher knowledge score was independently associated with higher attitude score. 56.03% of participants regarded short-acting oral contraceptives as hormonal agents and were reluctant to use them due to concerns about side effects and symptom recurrence. Lifestyle and dietary changes caused distress for many patients. More than half of participants believed that controlling a high-sugar, high-fat diet was difficult, despite recognising they should avoid such eating patterns. Reluctance to use short-acting contraceptives supports the need for individualised counselling on their benefits, risks, contraindications, side effects, and patient preferences.