Supplements · Metabolic & Cardiometabolic
PCOS increases homocysteine
Part of: • PCOS
📅 Last reviewed: 2026-07-15 ⓘ
Evidence ladder
How far up the ladder this claim has climbed. A high consensus on a low rung means "consistent so far," not "proven in people."
Top evidence so far: All trials, pooled (Meta-analysis)
How the studies fall
What the evidence shows
PCOS is associated with higher homocysteine and lower B12/folate vs controls.
The evidence (5)
| Source | Grade | Stance | Quality | Finding |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Asanidze E et al 2025 · study_type: observational | observational | supports | moderate | Case-control, Georgian women: PCOS (n=96) vs non-PCOS controls (n=81). Mean Hcy higher in PCOS-with-RPL 13.7±2.7 vs PCOS-no-RPL 10.3±2.6 vs non-PCOS-RPL 11.5±2.3 vs healthy controls 7.3±2.2 µmol/L, p<0.001 across groups; no BMI-adjustment r |
| Lin X, Jin Y, Hong S 2024 · Int J Endocrinol | observational | mixed | moderate | Two-sample MR (14 SNPs; 3 European GWAS): plasma homocysteine NOT causally associated with PCOS risk (combined 1.032, 95% CI 0.885-1.203, p=0.688). RELEVANCE: tests Hcy->PCOS, the REVERSE of this claim - rules out reverse causation but does not itself test whether PCOS raises Hcy. Graded mixed for that reason. |
| hcy-pcos-2019 2019 | observational | supports | moderate | Case-control (n=80): homocysteine 11.5+/-2.24 vs 7.55+/-2.45 umol/L (p<0.001); HHcy 70% vs 54%; correlated w/ HOMA-IR/BMI/androgens. |
| Ulloque-Badaracco JR, et al. 2024 · Womens Health (Lond) | meta-analysis | supports | moderate | PCOS associated with higher homocysteine and lower B12/folate vs controls. |
| pcos-hcy-georgia-2023 2023 | observational | supports | moderate | Case-control: hyperhomocysteinemia more frequent in PCOS, esp. with recurrent pregnancy loss. |
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