CASE REPORT article
Front. Adolesc. Med.
Sec. Adolescent Endocrinology
Volume 3 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fradm.2025.1557504
This article is part of the Research TopicPolycystic Ovarian Syndrome in AdolescenceView all 4 articles
Time-restricted feeding improves metabolism in twins with polycystic ovary syndrome and insulin resistance
Provisionally accepted
- Affiliated Hospital of Zunyi Medical University, Zunyi, China
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Introduction: As the prevalence of overweight/obesity has increased, the prevalence of Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) in adolescents has also increased significantly. The main features of PCOS in adolescents include menstrual irregularities and hyperandrogenism, manifested as hirsutism, acne, and/or elevated testosterone levels. Currently, the main treatment of PCOS is symptomatic supportive therapy. Lifestyle intervention remains the first-line therapeutic approach for adolescents with PCOS. We present a case study of Time-restricted feeding (TRF) intervention in 18-year-old monozygotic twins, both diagnosed with PCOS and insulin resistance (IR). Methods: The twins underwent an 8-hour TRF intervention for 24 weeks (eating window between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., with only water permitted during the remaining time; daily caloric intake was restricted to 1200 - 1,500 kcal). Changes in waist circumference, body weight, body mass index (BMI), lipids, alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), aspartate aminotransferase (GGT), fasting glucose (FBG), fasting insulin (FINS), glucose metabolism (glucose disposal rate, GDR), luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), LH/FSH, total testosterone (TT), sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG), free androgen index (FAI), anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH), menstrual cycle, Ferryman - gallwey (F-G) index and Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS) were evaluated. Results: Significant changes in waist circumference, body weight, BMI, FINS, FBG, ALT, AST, GGT, HDL-L, SHBG, TES, FAI, AMH, LH/FSH were found after the TRF intervention. Additionally, there was significant improvement in IR based on the hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamp test. Furthermore, TRF improves menstrual irregularity and hirsutism symptoms, and may also alleviate potentially depression. Conclusion: This is the first case report of an 8-hour TRF intervention in monozygotic twins with PCOS and IR, with effective control of genetic and environmental confounders. TRF improves IR and clinical symptoms in adolescents with PCOS, and these benefits are more pronounced with higher adherence to the intervention.
Keywords: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), Time-restricted feeding (TRF), Insulin resistance (IR), twins GGT, HDL-L, SHBG, TES, fAI
Received: 08 Jan 2025; Accepted: 29 Aug 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Luo, Tan, Feng, Li, Huang and LIAO. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: XIN LIAO, Affiliated Hospital of Zunyi Medical University, Zunyi, China
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