Metabolic risk factors such as
obesity are considered major obstacles to female fertility. Chronic
infertility imposes psychological and social burdens on women because
infertility violates societal gender roles. Although the prevalence of
obesity among women is expected to increase in the future, the relevance of metabolic status for fertility is still underestimated. However, the assessment of metabolic risk factors is highly relevant for understanding fertility disorders and improving
infertility treatment. This narrative review discusses the associations of metabolic risk factors (e.g.
obesity,
female athlete triad, oxidative stress) with significant
infertility. An electronic search was conducted for studies published between 2006 and 2020 in Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, ScienceDirect, PubMed, Scopus, Google Scholar and related databases. In total, this search identified 19,309 results for
polycystic ovary syndrome, 28,969 results for
endometriosis, and only 1611 results for idiopathic and/or unknown
infertility. For the present narrative review, 50 relevant studies were included: 19 studies were on
obesity, 24 studies investigated the
female athlete triad, and seven studies addressed other risk factors, including
reactive oxygen species. This narrative review confirms the direct impact of
obesity on
female infertility, while the effect of other risk factors needs to be confirmed by large-scale population studies.