Elevated Body Mass Index Associated With Uterine Fibroids: A Retrospective Cohort Study With Bioinformatic Validation.

AIM: Uterine fibroids are the most common benign pelvic tumors in women. Meanwhile, the prevalence of obesity has been increasing annually and affects various health conditions. However, the relationship between obesity and the development of uterine fibroids remains inconsistent and warrants further investigation.

METHODS

Clinical data from 1170 women undergoing routine health examinations at the Second Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University were retrospectively analyzed. We compared the incidence of uterine fibroids across different body mass index categories and evaluated differences in serum lipid profiles between patients with uterine fibroids and control subjects. These findings were externally validated using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. To explore potential molecular mechanisms, gene expression datasets related to uterine fibroids and obesity were obtained from the Gene Expression Omnibus database. Differentially expressed genes were identified and subjected to functional enrichment analysis. Subsequently, a protein-protein interaction network was constructed to identify hub genes using Cytoscape.

RESULTS

The incidence of uterine fibroids was significantly higher in both overweight and obese groups compared to the normal weight group. Significant differences in Low-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol levels were also found between the fibroid and non-fibroid groups. To elucidate the underlying mechanisms, we identified 85 common differentially expressed genes, which were primarily enriched in extracellular matrix-related pathways. Subsequent protein-protein interaction network analysis pinpointed three hub genes: TGFBI, ITGA4, and VCAN.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results suggest that weight management may be associated with a reduced risk of uterine fibroids. While these findings are preliminary, they may have some relevance to clinical practice pending confirmation in future studies.