Relationship between metabolic syndrome and uterine leiomyomas: a case-control study

Uterine leiomyomas are the most common gynecological benign tumor and greatly affect reproductive health and well-being. The pathophysiology and epidemiology of fibroids are poorly understood. Obesity and elevated blood pressure have been reported to be predisposing factors. In this study, we investigated whether fibroids are associated with some criteria of the metabolic syndrome.

The case patients were 213 women who underwent hysterectomy or myomectomy for fibroids, and the control subjects were 159 women who underwent operation for benign indications other than fibroids. Preoperative information on body mass index (BMI), blood pressure (BP), serum triglyceride (TG) and fasting plasma glucose (FPG) was obtained from medical records. The patients were classified as overweight if they had a preoperatively measured BMI of > or =24.0, hypertensive if BP was > or =140/90 mm Hg, hypertriglyceridemic if TG was > or =150 mg/dl, and hyperglycemic if FPG was > or =110 mg/dl.

BMI, BP, TG and FPG were significantly higher in the case group compared with the control group. In logistic regression analysis, fibroids were statistically significantly associated with being overweight and hypertensive. With the combination of these risk factors, the risk of fibroids increased.

Uterine leiomyomas may share pathogenic features with the development of metabolic syndrome.