Polycystic ovary syndrome and risk of uterine leiomyomata

Abstract

To examine the association between polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and the risk of uterine leiomyomata (UL). Prospective cohort study. Participants from the Black Women's Health Study, an ongoing prospective cohort study of African-American women aged 21-69 years in 1995 residing in the United States. Participants completed mailed questionnaires about their health status every 2 years. Premenopausal women with no history of UL at the start of follow-up (N = 23,571). No interventions were administered. Incidence of UL among those with and without self-reported, physician-diagnosed PCOS over a 6-year period of follow-up (1997-2003). Medical-record validation in a random subset of UL cases confirmed 96% of diagnoses. During 114,373 person-years of follow-up, 3,631 new cases of UL confirmed by ultrasound (N = 2,926) or hysterectomy (N = 705) were reported. After adjustment for potential confounders, the incidence of UL was 65% higher among women with PCOS than women without PCOS (incidence rate ratio, 1.65; 95% confidence interval, 1.21-2.24). The incidence rate ratios remained constant with increasing time after the diagnosis of PCOS. Results were similar when analyses were confined to women reporting a recent Papanicolaou smear, a proxy for a pelvic examination. The present study suggests a positive association between PCOS and UL in African-American women.