Oxidative Stress and Infertility: A Possible Link to Exercise

Infertility is generally used to reference the reproductive state of a couple who are sexually active without the use of contraceptives and yet are unable to achieve spontaneous natural pregnancy after a year of attempt. One of the biggest issues pertaining to infertility remains that of the idiopathic component of infertility and the extent to which lifestyle factors, such as exercise, affect this phenomenon. Oxidative stress (OS) itself is defined as an imbalance of reactive oxygen species production and the detoxification of these molecules by antioxidative processes in the body. OS accounts for approximately 30–80 % of idiopathic infertility cases.