title: Body weight and uterine leiomyomas among women in Nigeria.
abstract: Objective of this study was to determine possible relationship between body weight and incidence of uterine leiomyomas (UL) among women in Umuahia, South Eastern Nigeria. The study involved one hundred and fifty-one UL patients whose body mass indices were compared with those of age-matched controls. Incidence of UL was found to be related to body weight of women aged 26-40 years. Body mass index (BMI) is weight in kg divided by square of height in metres. Mean BMIs +/- standard deviation (SD) of UL patients were found to be significantly higher than those of controls: (26.85 +/- 5.32 vs 21.63 +/- 7.76, P = 0.036) for women aged 26-30 years; (24.52 +/- 4.01 vs 22.75 +/- 4.03, P = 0.027) for women aged 31-35 years; (26.56 +/- 4.92 vs 23.10 +/- 4.38, P = 0.032) for women aged 36-40 years. However, there was no significant difference between mean BMI +/- SD of UL patients aged 21-25 years and their age-matched controls (21.15 +/- 2.70 vs 22.91 +/- 3.30, P = 0.068). The level of significance was selected as P < 0.05. This study has revealed association between overweight (BMI > 25) and incidence of UL among women in Umuahia, Nigeria. It has enabled us to understand more about pathogenesis of UL. Weight reduction, therefore, may reduce the incidence and improve ovarian function.
authors.affiliation: St. Michael's Hospital for Women, Umuahia, Nigeria.
authors.forename: M O
authors.initials: MO
authors.lastname: Okoronkwo
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001835:Body Weight; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007889:Leiomyoma / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D009549:Nigeria / Q000453:epidemiology; D009765:Obesity / Q000150:complications*; D015995:Prevalence; D011446:Prospective Studies; D014594:Uterine Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*