Uterine Fibroids and Their Impact on Women Fertility

A lot of women are affected by infertility. In general, scientists are able to determine the causes behind the issue but in several cases the cause is not exactly known. The problem can sometimes be due to the reduction of woman eggs quality, or damage to the fallopian tubes, or ovulatory isues, or conditions affecting the uterus in addition to many other reasons.

Among these related problems to the uterus is the Uterine fibroids known also as myomas or leiomyomas. As defined, Uterine fibroids are tumours which grow from cells forming the muscle of the uterus (womb). Uterine fibroids, which are also called leiomyoma or myoma of the uterus, can grow on the uterine wall and push out into the bladder, bowel or intestine.

Uterine fibroids and their association to women infertility are subject to much scientific research. And up till now, there isn’t a firm answer that a direct causal link is found between infertility and fibroids. This study which is recently published in Obstetrics & Gynecology: An International Journal is among these academic efforts that investigated to contribute and enlighten the issue.

Researchers of this study, like previous studies, haven’t managed to find direct link. They explained that though there might be certain connection that link between infertility and fibroids, but it’s not completely evident if they are a direct cause.

“Relationship between fibroids and infertility is still subject to a large debate, and we still do not know exactly if they indeed cause infertility or it is a simple association. However, in our study, we found that 49.16% of our patients complained about fertility problem, showing that the association between fibroids and female infertility is not uncommon” as stated in the study.

Also, researchers noticed that “uterine fibroids were associated with miscarriage that has been shown by a number of studies where they found that the number of miscarriages is higher in women with fibroids.” The reason “can be due to the fact that if the fibroids are close to the placenta, this can eventually cause spontaneous miscarriage”.

Researchers stated previous studies mentioning that uterine fibroids most frequently affect women between ages of 30 and 45. But in the current study, they noticed that “the highest incidence (48.19%) was observed between 40-49 years.”

Another study carried by researchers from Germany indicated “that age is a risk factor for uterine fibroids as diagnosed women with myomas were significantly older than undiagnosed women…In contrast, age at menarche did not appear as a risk factor for women with uterine fibroids, which was found in some other research studies. Furthermore, after adjusting for age, we could not find any difference in the percentage of women who have given birth between women with and without a diagnosis of uterine fibroids, although parity is supposed to decrease the risk of uterine myomas.”

Up till now, there isn’t a clear evidence of the direct cause behind uterine fibroids, though scientists found that it could be related to a mixture of what is hormonal, namely the increase of oestrogen hormone, and what is genetic and environmental.