Abdominal obesity can induce both systemic and follicular fluid oxidative stress independent from polycystic ovary syndrome

Objective: The abdominal form of obesity is prevalent in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Visceral fat accumulation seems to play an important role in etiology of PCOS. In this cross-sectional study we evaluated the association of oxidative stress (OS) induced with PCOS and abdominal obesity in serum and follicular fluid (FF) of infertile women. Study design: A total of 80 women younger than 37 years old undergoing an IVF program were studied in the same period of time from September 2012 to October 2013. Blood serum and FF obtained from 40 women with PCOS (diagnosed by the Rotterdam 2004 criteria) and 40 women without PCOS undergoing IVF were evaluated for two OS markers: lipid peroxide (LPO) and total antioxidant capacity (TAC), after puncture. The patients were divided into 4 groups on the basis of presence of PCOS and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) or abdominal obesity (OA). Results: Healthy and PCOS women with abdominal obesity had significantly higher amounts of LPO in the serum and FF as compared with women without abdominal obesity. LPO concentration in FF was significantly lower than in serum and corroborates the hypothesis that the germinal cells have a potent antioxidant mechanism. We also found that LPO concentration in the PCOS group associated with AO had an increasing trend vs. those AO patients without PCOS but this difference was not significant, so the increase in LPO level was approximately independent of PCOS. Based on our results, the association and interaction between PCOS and AO can lead to TAC concentration reduction in patients. Conclusions: Abdominal obesity can induce local and systemic oxidative stress in PCOS and non-PCOS patients. We suggest that PCOS-induced disorders are likely to be exacerbated in the presence of abdominal obesity. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.