title: Association of intrauterine and early life factors with uterine leiomyomata in black women.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Uterine leiomyomata (UL) are the primary indication for hysterectomy and are 2-3 times more common in black than white women. Previous studies indicate that early life may be a critical time window of susceptibility to UL. We assessed the association of UL with selected intrauterine and early life factors, expanding on previous research by using a prospective design and validated data on exposure and disease.
  
  
  METHODS
  During 1997-2009, we followed 23,505 premenopausal women aged 23-50 years for new diagnoses of UL in the Black Women's Health Study. We used Cox regression models to compute incidence rate ratios (IRR) and 95% confidence intervals, adjusting for potential confounders.
  
  
  RESULTS
  During 12 years of follow-up, there were 7268 incident UL cases diagnosed by ultrasound (n = 5727) or surgery (n = 1541). There was little evidence of an association between UL and birth weight, gestational age, or exposure to soy formula in infancy. Significant associations were found for being first born, foreign born, or exposed to passive smoke in childhood, but the associations were weak, with IRRs ranging from 1.06 to 1.12.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These findings do not support the hypothesis that intrauterine and early life factors are strongly related to UL risk.
authors.affiliation: Slone Epidemiology Center, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA. lwise@bu.edu
authors.forename: Lauren A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Wise
authors.forename: Rose G
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Radin
authors.forename: Julie R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Palmer
authors.forename: Lynn
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Rosenberg
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American; D044383:Black People; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007889:Leiomyoma / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000208:ethnology*; D008423:Maternal Age; D018811:Maternal Exposure; D008875:Middle Aged; D016017:Odds Ratio; D011247:Pregnancy; D017697:Premenopause; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects / Q000208:ethnology*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D014594:Uterine Neoplasms / Q000208:ethnology*; D055815:Young Adult