Levels of Plasma Homocysteine in Obese Women Subjects Homocysteine and Obesity

OBJECTIVE: An increased homocysteine level is an independent risk factor for vascular diseases. The present study was designed to evaluate plasma homocysteine levels in obese women compared with non-obese healthy women. MATERIAL and METHODS: We selected 55 obese women (mean age 47.2 +/- 9.2 years) having a body mass index >= 30 kg/m(2) and 50 non-obese healthy women matched for age (mean age 46.3 +/- 9.5 years) who attended our outpatients clinic. We measured levels of homocysteine in obese and nonobese groups. RESULTS: No significant difference was observed between obese and non-obese control groups regarding the homocysteine levels (10.3 +/- 3.5 mu mol/l vs. 10.1 +/- 3.8 mu mol/l, p>0.05). In this selected study population as a whole, the correlation between homocysteine levels and body mass index did not attain statistical significance (r=0.12, p>0.05). CONCLUSION: We found that homocysteine levels were comparable between middle-aged obese and non-obese women. Our data may suggest that increased cardiovascular risk in obese women is probably not related to the homocysteine level.