Tirzepatide weight loss holds up in women with PCOS, large UK study finds
In a large UK cohort, women who reported PCOS lost about the same percentage of body weight on tirzepatide as other women, though few reached the 10-month mark.
Women who reported having polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) lost about as much weight on tirzepatide as women who did not, according to a retrospective study of 54,114 women treated through a UK digital weight-management service [1]. The results were published in the Journal of the Endocrine Society [1].
What the study found
The study followed all 54,114 women who were prescribed tirzepatide through the service between February 2024 and January 2025. Of that group, 4,241 reported PCOS [1]. Tirzepatide is the active ingredient in Mounjaro and Zepbound.
At 10 months, the average weight change was -19.40 percent in women with PCOS and -18.74 percent in women without it. The researchers reported that difference as not significant [1].
Among women with PCOS, 57.66 percent had lost at least 20 percent of their body weight by that point [1].
Limits of the data
The 10-month comparison rests on a small number of women with PCOS. Only 40 of the 4,241 women who reported PCOS actually reached the 10-month timepoint [1]. That means the estimate for that group is less certain than the overall cohort size suggests.
PCOS status was self-reported rather than confirmed from medical records, so some women counted in the PCOS group may not have had a clinical diagnosis, and some in the other group may have had one [1].
The study was retrospective and open-cohort, and it drew on one digital weight-management service in the UK [1]. Whether the same pattern would appear in other health systems, including the US, has not been reported.
The study also did not report whether the pattern applies to semaglutide, the ingredient in Ozempic, Wegovy and Rybelsus [1]. Dosing details and how many women stopped taking tirzepatide during the follow-up period have not been disclosed [1].
Why it matters for patients
PCOS is common in women of reproductive age and often comes with insulin resistance and difficulty losing weight. Women with PCOS are sometimes told that weight-loss medications may work less well for them. In this cohort, the researchers found no meaningful difference between the two groups over 10 months [1].
The finding is about body weight only. The study did not report whether tirzepatide changed PCOS symptoms themselves, such as menstrual cycle regularity, ovulation or androgen levels. That has not been reported [1].
The small number of women with PCOS who reached 10 months is the main caveat. A result based on 40 people can shift with a few different outcomes, so the comparable weight loss seen here is best read as a signal rather than a firm estimate for everyone with PCOS [1].
The study also does not show what happens past 10 months. Long-term weight loss and weight regain on tirzepatide in women with PCOS have not been reported in this dataset [1].
What happens next
No randomized trial focused specifically on tirzepatide in women with PCOS has been reported [1]. As with any single retrospective cohort, confirmation would generally come from other datasets or from trials that diagnose PCOS clinically and follow patients longer, but no such follow-up has been disclosed [1].
Sources
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