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Obesity is not a descriptive factor for oxidative stress and viscosity in follicular fluid of in vitro fertilization patients

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Abstract

Background

Obesity’s impact on micro-environmental oxidative stress and follicular fluid (FF) viscosity and whether or not it has any effect on in vitro fertilization (IVF) success is a matter of debate.

Aims

In this study, our aim was to evaluate the levels of oxidative stress markers and the FF viscosity in obese and non-obese patients.

Methods

Eighty norm-responder patients undergoing IVF were prospectively grouped according to their body mass indexes (BMI). Group 1 (n = 40) and group 2 (n = 40) had BMI values of ≤24.9 and ≥25.0, respectively. Total sulfhydryl (RSH) levels (nmol/m) and the formation of thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (malondialdehyde, or MDA) (µmol/ml) in FFs were quantified. For the first time in our study, FF viscosity with changing BMI values was also determined.

Results

The mean levels of MDA (µmol/ml) and RSH (nmol/ml) were not significantly different between groups (1.37 ± 0.51; 1.51 ± 0.51; p > 0.05 for MDA and 0.42 ± 0.30; 0.41 ± 0.20; p > 0.05 for RSH, respectively). Similarly, the FF viscosity (centipoise) was not different between groups (1.28 ± 0.28; 1.30 ± 0.19; p < 0.05, respectively). Independent of BMI, no correlation was found between FF levels of oxidative markers and the number of oocytes retrieved or the fertilization rates.

Conclusions

In our study, we found no difference in the levels of follicular oxidative and anti-oxidative markers or the follicular fluid viscosity with changing BMI values. We also demonstrated that the levels of oxidative stress markers and the viscosity of follicular fluid did not affect clinical outcomes.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Infertility, Dumlupinar University Faculty of Medicine, Kutahya, Turkey

    B. Yuksel & A. Seven

  2. Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Infertility, Bahcesehir University Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul, Turkey

    S. Kilic

  3. Department of Infertility, Dr. Zekai Tahir Burak Women’s Health Research Hospital, Ankara, Turkey

    N. Yilmaz & S. Batioglu

  4. Department of Physiology, Gazi University School of Medicine, Ankara, Turkey

    T. Goktas

  5. Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Infertility, Gulhane Military Medical Faculty, Ankara, Turkey

    U. Keskin & M. Ulubay

Authors
  1. B. Yuksel
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  2. S. Kilic
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  3. N. Yilmaz
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  4. T. Goktas
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  5. U. Keskin
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  6. A. Seven
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  7. M. Ulubay
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  8. S. Batioglu
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to B. Yuksel.

Ethics declarations

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Conflict of interest

All authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Informed consent

An informed consent was obtained from all participants prior to the study.

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Yuksel, B., Kilic, S., Yilmaz, N. et al. Obesity is not a descriptive factor for oxidative stress and viscosity in follicular fluid of in vitro fertilization patients. Ir J Med Sci 186, 641–646 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11845-016-1523-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11845-016-1523-6

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