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A prospective study on the association between red hair color and endometriosis in infertile patients
S H Woodworth1, M Singh, M A Yussman
1Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Louisville School of Medicine, Kentucky, USA.
Objective:
To determine if red-haired infertile women have an increased prevalence of endometriosis.
Design:
Prospective, nonblinded.
Setting:
Large, metropolitan, private hospital, associated with a university. Subspeciality care provided by reproductive endocrinologists.
Patients:
One hundred forty-three consecutive women undergoing laparoscopy or laparotomy for infertility.
Interventions:
Laser ablation of any endometriosis present.
Main Outcome Measure:
Presence of endometriosis.
Results:
Of 143 women entered into the study, 12 had natural red hair. The ages of these women ranged between 23 and 41 years. Ten of 12 (83%) of the red-haired women were found to have endometriosis compared with 55 of 131 (42%) of nonredheads. By statistical analysis, the 95% confidence intervals for the presence of endometriosis in redheads was 55% to 100% versus 34% to 51% for nonredheads.
Conclusion:
The results suggest an association between the occurrence of natural red hair and those factors that lead to the development of endometriosis.