Inositol review finds hormone changes in PCOS, with uncertain symptom benefits
Pooled trials reported improved androgen-related blood measures, while body-weight subgroup findings were exploratory and did not establish who should use inositol.
Based on the published abstract. The full paper may contain additional methods, results and limitations.
The 30-second takeaway
Inositol supplementation was associated with lower testosterone and related measures of excess androgen activity in women with PCOS. Results varied substantially across studies. The clearest subgroup signal appeared in women of normal weight, but those analyses were exploratory. The abstract does not establish improvements in unwanted hair growth, ovulation or patients' day-to-day experience.
Treatment comparators and durations are not described in the abstract. Substantial variation between studies and exploratory subgroup analyses limit confidence in how the findings apply to individual patients.
Blood measures are the outcome
The review focused on total and calculated free testosterone, the free androgen index and a hormone-binding protein. These laboratory outcomes address biochemical androgen excess; they do not by themselves establish changes in symptoms or reproductive function.
Subgroup results need confirmation
The authors found no statistically significant improvement in participants with overweight or obesity, or in those with insulin resistance considered independently of body weight. This does not prove inositol is ineffective in those groups or establish reliable treatment-selection rules.
The original publication
Metabolic Phenotype Predicts Biochemical Response to Inositol Supplementation in Polycystic Ovary Syndrome: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
Tienforti D, Puocci G, Venditti C et al.
Clin Endocrinol (Oxf) · 2026
- PubMed ID
- 41947399
- Record checked
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