Circulating Levels of Sex Hormone Binding Globulin, Estradiol, and Lipid Parameters in Female Infertility: A Cross-sectional Study in Owerri, Imo State, Nigeria
Onyebuchi Desmond Chikezie
*
Chemical Pathology Department, Faculty of Medical Laboratory Science, Abia State University, Abia State, Nigeria.
Lynda Chidinma Nwadi
School of Health and Social Work, University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield, United Kingdom.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Background: Female infertility is broadly defined as the failure to achieve conception after twelve months of regular, unprotected sexual intercourse with a male partner of confirmed fertility. Despite its widespread impact across sub-Saharan Africa, including Nigeria, the condition has only recently gained the attention it deserves in research and policy discourse. The inability to conceive carries profound psychological, social, and economic consequences for affected women and their families. Against this backdrop, the present study sought to assess the concentrations of sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG), estradiol (E2), and lipid parameters in women with infertility attributable to hormonal dysfunction.
Aim: The present study explore about Circulating Levels of Sex Hormone Binding Globulin, Estradiol, and Lipid Parameters in Female Infertility
Methodology: This investigation adopted a cross-sectional design and enrolled 160 female participants between the ages of 20 and 45 years, all attending the Federal Teaching Hospital, Owerri (FTHO), Nigeria. The sample comprised two groups: 80 women with a confirmed diagnosis of hormonal infertility who were not currently receiving any pharmacological treatment (case group), and 80 apparently healthy, fertile women who served as controls. The following biochemical markers were quantified using standard laboratory procedures: SHBG, estradiol (E2), total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-c), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-c), and very low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (VLDL-c).
Results: Serum concentrations of SHBG, E2, TG, and VLDL-c were all significantly lower in the infertile group relative to the fertile controls (P < 0.05). In contrast, TC, HDL-c, and LDL-c levels were significantly elevated in infertile women compared with fertile participants (P < 0.05). Pearson correlation analysis revealed a strong positive association between TC and LDL-c in both groups, while TG showed a significant positive correlation with VLDL-c in both infertile and fertile women. A notable negative correlation between LDL-c and VLDL-c was observed exclusively in the fertile group (P < 0.05).
Conclusion: The observed hormonal and lipid abnormalities suggest that steroidogenesis may be functioning inadequately in hormonally infertile women, which may in part explain their difficulty in achieving pregnancy.
Keywords: Female infertility, sex hormone binding globulin, estradiol, lipid profile