Associations of Ultra-Processed Food Consumption and Night Eating With GI Symptom-Specific Anxiety in Reproductive-Age Women With Polycystic Ovary Syndrome.

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a complex endocrine disorder often accompanied by metabolic disturbances, night eating patterns, and gastrointestinal-related distress. This cross-sectional study examined the associations between ultra-processed food (UPF) consumption, night eating symptoms, and gastrointestinal (GI) symptom-specific anxiety in 205 women (aged 18-50 years) with a physician-confirmed PCOS diagnosis. Participants completed validated questionnaires assessing UPF consumption (sQ-HPF), the severity of night eating symptoms (NEQ), and GI-specific anxiety (VSI), alongside self-reported anthropometric measurements. Multiple linear regression models were used to identify independent associations, adjusting for body mass index (BMI), smoking status, and socioeconomic status. While higher UPF consumption was significantly associated with increased NEQ scores and higher GI-specific anxiety in bivariate analyses, its independent influence was attenuated in final adjusted regression models. In these adjusted models, GI-specific anxiety and BMI were independently associated with NEQ scores (p