Early TRE (eTRE) significantly improves glycemic, lipid, and weight outcomes in women with PCOS.

Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) is a common endocrine and metabolic disorder affecting women of reproductive age, characterized by significant metabolic impairments including insulin resistance, dyslipidemia, and obesity. Current standard-of-care often involves metformin for insulin sensitivity, but dietary strategies like time-restricted eating (TRE) offer a promising non-pharmacological approach. While both early (eTRE) and mid-day (mTRE) TRE have shown metabolic benefits, their comparative efficacy in managing the specific metabolic challenges of PCOS has remained unclear, representing a critical gap this study addresses.

This 6-week randomized controlled trial enrolled 75 women with PCOS to compare two TRE protocols against an ad libitum control. Participants were randomized into three groups: eTRE (8:00 AM-6:00 PM), mTRE (11:00 AM-9:00 PM), or a control group with unrestricted eating. The primary endpoint was fasting insulin level, with secondary outcomes including FBS, HOMA-IR, lipid profile (total cholesterol, LDL-C, HDL-C, TG), body weight, BMI, and waist circumference (WC). Metabolic and anthropometric variables were assessed at baseline and post-intervention.

Both early and mid-day time-restricted eating protocols demonstrated significant improvements in key metabolic markers. Compared to the control group, both eTRE and mTRE significantly reduced FBS, fasting insulin, HOMA-IR, body weight, and WC (all P < 0.05). This indicates a broad metabolic benefit across both TRE approaches for women with PCOS. However, eTRE showed superior effects on lipid profiles:

eTRE significantly improved total cholesterol (P < 0.001) and LDL-C levels (P = 0.01), whereas similar beneficial changes were not observed in the mTRE group. No specific numerical reductions for FBS, fasting insulin, HOMA-IR, body weight, or WC were provided in the abstract, only statistical significance. The differential impact on lipid markers highlights eTRE's potential for more comprehensive metabolic health improvements.