Endometriosis and body fat distribution.
OBJECTIVE
To examine the association of body fat distribution with risk of endometriosis in an effort to determine whether a specific somatotype is related to the disease.


METHODS
We conducted a case-control study of 88 laparoscopically confirmed cases of endometriosis, identified in a specialty gynecologic practice in western New York, and 88 age-matched friend controls. Data were collected by standardized personal interview, and body measurements were taken in a standardized fashion by one interviewer. Risk of endometriosis associated with body fat distribution, as expressed by waist-to-hip and waist-to-thigh ratios, was assessed using logistic regression.


RESULTS
For women under 30 years of age (45 cases, 46 controls), endometriosis was inversely related to both waist-to-hip ratio (odds ratio 6.18, 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.01-19.01) and waist-to-thigh ratio (odds ratio 3.64, 95% CI 1.23-10.78). This effect was not evident among women aged 30 years and older (43 cases, 42 controls).


CONCLUSIONS
Our results suggest a specific somatotype with a predominance of peripheral body fat among women with endometriosis. This finding may provide information useful in both the diagnosis and understanding of the disease etiology.
Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, State University of New York at Buffalo.
S E
SE
McCann
J L
JL
Freudenheim
S L
SL
Darrow
R E
RE
Batt
M A
MA
Zielezny
D000273:Adipose Tissue / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D000328:Adult; D000886:Anthropometry; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004715:Endometriosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008875:Middle Aged; D012307:Risk Factors; D013008:Somatotypes