Does Oxidative Stress Cause Insulin Resistance in Women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome?

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), with a prevalence of 4-12 percent, is the most common endocrine-metabolic disorder in reproductive age of women. Reproductive disorders in women with PCO include hyperinsulinemia, hyperandrogenism, chronic anovulation, and infertility. The purpose of this paper was to review and confirm the important role of oxidative stress in creating insulin resistance in this syndrome.

All relevant information was collected through databases such as PubMed and Google Scholar, which was extracted from a total of 100 articles between 1989-2020. Today, the assessment of oxidative stress in women with PCO is performed using circulatory markers such as malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and glutathione peroxidase (GPX).

Insulin resistance can be associated with the conditions of oxidative stress in women with PCO. Therefore, obtaining oxidative stress index can be considered valuable, and represent the occurrence of metabolic disorders in this syndrome.

Oxidative stress can play a key role in insulin resistance. Therefore, the oxidative stress index can help to understand unknown metabolic causes of this syndrome.