Is there an association between hysterectomy and subsequent adiposity?

To examine the associations between hysterectomy and subsequent adiposity and to investigate whether these associations vary by characteristics of hysterectomy and are independent of pre-hysterectomy adiposity and potential confounding factors.

Using information on women from the 1946 and 1958 British birth cohort studies (N = 1790 and 4552, respectively), collected prospectively across life, regression analyses were used to examine the associations between hysterectomy and subsequent body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference.

In unadjusted analyses there was a difference of 1.18 kg/m(2) (95% CI: 0.64, 1.74) in mean BMI and of 2.72 cm (1.45, 3.99) in waist circumference at age 44-45 years between women who had undergone hysterectomy and those who had not in the 1958 cohort, and differences of 0.76 kg/m(2) (-0.05, 1.57) and 0.34 cm (-1.58, 2.26) at age 43 years and 0.81 kg/m(2) (0.14, 1.49) and 1.45 cm (-0.15, 3.05) at age 53 years in the 1946 cohort. These differences attenuated and were no longer significant after adjustment for pre-hysterectomy BMI and confounders. There was no strong evidence of variation in associations by oophorectomy status, timing, route of or reason for procedure.

This study demonstrates that British women who had previously undergone hysterectomy had higher BMI and waist circumference in middle-age than others. These differences appear to be accounted for by the higher BMI in earlier adulthood and increased levels of risk factors associated with both adiposity and hysterectomy risk among women who had undergone hysterectomy. This suggests that women are unlikely to gain weight as a direct result of hysterectomy.