Infertility Due to Obesity in Women: Endocrine Pathways

Abstract

Infertility is a significant global health issue, with a negative impact on people's wellbeing and human rights. Despite the longstanding association between obesity and infertility, there remains uncertainty, about the precise mechanisms underpinning this association and best management strategies. In this article, we aimed to address these uncertainties by reviewing the recent literatures. We found that, obese women undergo perturbations of the ‘hypothalamic pituitary ovarian axis’, and frequently suffer of menstrual dysfunction leading to anovulation and infertility. Besides the hormone disorders and subfertility that are common in the polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), in obesity the adipocytes act as endocrine organ. The adipose tissue indeed, releases a number of bioactive molecules, namely adipokines that variably interact with multiple molecular pathways of insulin resistance, inflammation, hypertension, cardiovascular risk, coagulation, and oocyte differentiation and maturation.

Medicine Today 2025, Vol.37 (1): 144-148