The effect of obesity on oxidative stress parameters in pregnant women

Abstract

Objective: In recent years, there has been a growing public concern about obesity, since it is known to reduce fertility in women and increase the duration of conception. Maternal obesity is also related to adverse pregnancy outcomes affected by placental malfunction. Therefore, in this study, we aimed to compare levels of oxidative stress between obese women and women of normal weight in the second trimester. Method: We assessed lipid peroxidation by measuring the thiobarbituric acid reactive species (TBARS), as well as the antioxidant defense system by measuring the activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and catalase (CAT) enzymes in 50 obese women (body mass index, BMI:36.60±4.95) and 51 women of normal weight (BMI:24.51±3.47). Results: Increased lipid peroxidation and SOD enzyme activity were determined in obese pregnant women when compared to women of normal weight. Also, we found a significantly positive correlation (r:0.286, p:0.0435) between BMI and TBARS level as well as a significantly negative correlation (r: -0.421, p:0.002) between TBARS level and SOD enzyme activity. No significant difference was observed between the two groups in CAT and GPx enzymes activities. Conclusion: Although increased SOD enzyme activity indicates that the antioxidant defense system is activated to deal with increased production of reactive oxygen species, maternal obesity is induced by oxidative stress via increased lipid peroxidation. Hence, maternal-obesity-induced oxidative stress in the second trimester should be followed up by clinicians since it may cause oxidative damage in the placenta during pregnancy.