Zeitschrift für Adipositas- und Gewichtsverlusttherapie

Abstrakt

Maternal Obesity and Placental Oxidative Stress in the First Trimester

Mark C. Alanis, Elizabeth M. Steadman1, Yefim Manevich, Danyelle M. Townsend3 and Laura M. Goetzl

Objective: Maternal obesity is associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes affected by placental dysfunction. We sought to compare levels of placental oxidative stress between obese and lean women in the first trimester.
 
Study Design: Obese and lean women matched 1:1 for baseline variables and gestational age were enrolled between 8 and 13 weeks of gestation at the time of voluntary surgical abortion. The global cellular redox status was determined by measuring the total protein thiol content in placental homogenates and serum (ThioGlo-1).
 
Results: There were no differences in baseline variables between obese (n=22, median BMI 35.0) and lean controls (n=22, median BMI 22.0). The median level of placental oxidative stress was 31% greater in the obese group compared to the lean group (141.1 [117-156] vs. 203.7 [189-234] counts/sec/μg protein, respectively; p <0.001). A similar but statistically insignificant difference was noted in the serum (12.2 [9-15] vs. 13.6 [12-23] counts/sec/μcg protein; p=0.09).
 
Conclusion: Maternal obesity is associated with placental oxidative stress in the first trimester. Oxidative stress in the first trimester may reflect or contribute to impaired placentation and placental dysfunction in obese women.