Assessment of reproductive hormones in obese infertile women in southern (niger delta region), Nigeria

Background: Obesity is a medical problem that increases the risk to many reproductive issues in women, and there is a high prevalence of obese women in the population attending the different fertility clinics in the Niger Delta Region of Nigeria. Objective: This cross-sectional study was carried out to assess reproductive hormones in obese infertile women. Methods: A total of 626 women comprising of 513 obese infertile women and 113 not obese women who serve as control were recruited for the study.Anthropometric measurements were taken and Body Mass Index were calculated. A non-fasting venous blood sample was collected from the subjects and analyzed for serum Estrogen, Luteinizing Hormone (LH), Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH), Progesterone, Inhibin, and Prolactin. Results: The result revealed that obese infertile women with primary and secondary infertility showed a statistically significant (p<0.05) increase in estrogen, LH, FSH, prolactin levels, and decreased progesterone and inhibin levels. However, women with secondary infertility had slightly higher levels of all analyzed hormones than primary infertility women. The study also revealed that hyperestrogenism was more prevalent among the obese women with primary infertility and secondary infertilitycompared with other gonadal disorders, but slightly higher in secondary infertility women. Infertility showed positive correlation with Body Mass Index. LH, FSH, E2, progesterone and prolactin showed a positive correlation withBMI in primary and secondary infertility women, while inhibin showed a negative correlation with Body Mass Index.Conclusion: Therefore, weight loss should be considered as a first line of treatment in obese women with hormonal imbalance.