Carnitine and chromium co-supplementation affects mental health, hormonal, inflammatory, genetic, and oxidative stress parameters in women with polycystic ovary syndrome.

Abstract<bold>Objective:</bold> The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of the co-administration of carnitine and chromium on mental health, hormonal, inflammatory and genetic parameters in women with PCOS.<bold>Methods:</bold> This randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled clinical trial was conducted on 54 subjects, aged 18–40 years old. Subjects were randomly allocated to take either 1000 mg/d carnitine plus 200 µg/d chromium as chromium picolinate (<italic>n</italic> = 26) or placebo (<italic>n</italic> = 27) for 12 weeks.<bold>Results:</bold> Carnitine and chromium co-supplementation, compared with the placebo, significantly improved beck depression inventory (<italic>β</italic> − 0.84; 95% CI, −1.51, −0.17; <italic>p</italic> = 0.01), general health questionnaire scores (<italic>β</italic> − 1.13; 95% CI, −2.13, −0.14; <italic>p</italic> = 0.02) and depression anxiety and stress scale scores (<italic>β</italic> − 0.96; 95% CI, −0.78, −0.14; <italic>p</italic> = 0.02). Participants who received carnitine plus chromium supplements had significantly lower total testosterone (<italic>β</italic> − 0.15 ng/mL; 95% CI, −0.24, −0.06; <italic>p</italic> = 0.002), hirsutism (<italic>β</italic> − 0.48; 95% CI, −0.91, −0.06; <italic>p</italic> = 0.02), high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) (<italic>β</italic> − 1.02 mg/L; 95% CI, −1.79, −0.25; <italic>p</italic> = 0.01), and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels (<italic>β</italic> − 0.38 µmol/L; 95% CI, −0.56, −0.20; <italic>p</italic> < 0.001), and higher total antioxidant capacity (TAC) levels (<italic>β</italic> 107.18 mmol/L; 95% CI, 44.24, 170.12; <italic>p</italic> = 0.001) compared with the placebo. Moreover, carnitine and chromium co-supplementation upregulated gene expression of interleukin-6 (IL-6) (<italic>p</italic> = 0.02) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) (<italic>p</italic> = 0.02) compared with the placebo.<bold>Conclusion:</bold> Overall, the co-administration of carnitine and chromium for 12 weeks to women with PCOS had beneficial effects on mental health parameters, serum total testosterone, mF-G scores, hs-CRP, TAC and MDA levels, and gene expression of IL-6 and TNF-α. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]