DOI: 10.3390/healthcare14213635 ISSN: 2227-9032

Correlates of Health Satisfaction in a Web-Based Sample Enriched for Self-Reported Polycystic Ovary Syndrome: An Exploratory Cross-Sectional Study

Elena Domnica Bacușcă, Alberto Emanuel Bacușcă, Agnes Iacinta Bacușcă, Elena Teona Coșovanu, Elena Popa, Antoneta Dacia Petroaie, Ana Maria Slănină, Mihaela Manole, Elena Adorata Coman

Background/Objectives: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), named polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome by a 2026 global consensus, combines metabolic, dermatological and psychological features. We examined which clinical, anthropometric and symptom-related characteristics were associated with health satisfaction in a web-based sample enriched for self-reported PCOS. Methods: Cross-sectional web-based survey using a Romanian-language questionnaire (October–November 2023). Of 212 submissions retained after integrity screening, 159 (75.0%) reported a previous diagnosis of PCOS. Health satisfaction (study-specific five-point item) was analysed with proportional-odds ordinal regression including seven covariates, irrespective of diagnostic status (n = 194). Sensitivity analyses restricted the model to respondents reporting a diagnosis, adjusted for diagnostic status or sociodemographic characteristics and retained all submissions. Results: Lower health satisfaction was associated with higher body mass index (OR 0.92 per kg/m2; 95% CI 0.87–0.97), self-reported hirsutism (OR 0.43; 95% CI 0.24–0.76) and reported anxiety (OR 0.49; 95% CI 0.28–0.87; reference group mostly “do not know/no answer”). Estimates changed little after these adjustments or with all submissions; among respondents reporting a diagnosis (n = 145), the estimates for self-reported hirsutism and reported anxiety were attenuated and imprecise. Age, menstrual irregularity, infertility diagnosis and dysmenorrhea severity showed no statistically detectable association. Conclusions: These exploratory, mutually adjusted associations involve higher body mass index, self-reported hirsutism and endorsement of the questionnaire’s anxiety option; the last reflects a response contrast, not clinically assessed anxiety. They warrant confirmation in clinically characterised cohorts using validated instruments.

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