Impact of Body Mass Index on the Prevalence of Metabolic Syndrome among Infertile South Indian Women

To study the prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MBS) in different body mass index (BMI) group infertile women in both polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) and non-PCOS subgroups. A prospective cross-sectional study of all infertile women attending the outpatient in the department of reproductive medicine and surgery in a tertiary care center catering patients from South India was conducted. These women were categorized based on BMI into groups as ≤23 kg/m2, 23.1–25 kg/m2, 25.1–27 kg/m2, 27.1–30 kg/m2, and >30 kg/m2. They were further subdivided as PCOS and non-PCOS based on Rotterdam criteria (2003). These women underwent screening for MBS according to the modified American Heart Association/National Heart Lung Blood Institute AHA/NHLBI (ATP III 2005) definition. The results were analyzed for significance by the unpaired t test and the Chi-square test. A total of 1,030 infertile women were analyzed. The mean age was 28.8 ± 4.5 years; mean BMI was 26.9 ± 3.7 kg/m2. More than 90% of women had waist circumference >80 cm. The prevalence of MBS among the infertile women was 35.3% and among PCOS and non-PCOS women was 44.7 and 28.9%, respectively. Even though there was statistically no significant difference in the metabolic parameters among PCOS and non-PCOS subgroups in different BMI cutoff levels, there was an increase in abnormal metabolic parameters with increase in BMI. The prevalence of MBS in the BMI groups among PCOS women was 11.1, 28.1, 29.7, 51.8, and 73.6%, respectively (p = 0.0005) and among non-PCOS women was 4.9, 20.4, 24.6, 41.6, and 66.7%, respectively (p = 0.0005). The BMI is an independent risk factor for MBS in both PCOS and non-PCOS infertile women. Screening for MBS in infertile women helps in early identification and primary prevention by lifestyle modification helps in delaying long-term consequences of type 2 diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular diseases. Vembu R, Nandini Devi M, Nellepalli SR, et al. Impact of Body Mass Index on the Prevalence of Metabolic Syndrome among Infertile South Indian Women. Int J Infertil Fetal Med 2019;10(3):42–45.