Iraqi Postgraduate Medical Journal

Abstract

ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND:
Uterine leiomyomas are the most common benign tumours of the female genital tract. They are a major source of morbidity for women and a frequent indication of gynecological surgery. Understanding the etiology of uterine fibroids remains incomplete. Vitamin D may be an unrecognized risk factor for their development.
OBJECTIVE:
To assess serum vitamin D3 levels in women with and without uterine fibroids and to identify whether serum vitamin D3 levels correlate with the severity of uterine fibroids disease.
METHODS:
This prospective case- control study involved 150 women in their premenopausal state who presented at the outpatient gynecology clinic at AL-Yarmook Teaching Hospital, Baghdad-Iraq. They were arranged into two groups; the control group consisted of 75 healthy women without uterine fibroids confirmed by ultrasound examination. The remaining 75 women, had at least one fibroid lesion of 2cm3 in volume or larger confirmed by transvaginal/ transabdominal ultrasound examination, represented the study group. All women enrolled in the study had similar demographic background. For each case woman, total uterine volume, and total volume of all existing fibroids were measured. Serum vitamin D3 levels were measured for all participants by ELISA method. Statistical analysis was performed to compare serum vitamin D3 levels across groups of women with and without uterine fibroids and to assess the correlation of serum vitamin D3 levels with uterine fibroids burden.
RESULTS:
Serum vitamin D3 levels were significantly (p=0.0001) lower among women with uterine fibroids compared to the control group with a mean value (15.81±8.64) ng/ml in women with uterine fibroid and (34.25±8.07) ng/ml in the control group. A significant negative correlation was found between serum vitamin D3 levels and the increase in number of uterine fibroids (r=-0.623, p=0.0001) and the increase in total uterine fibroids volume (r=-0.742, p=0.0001).
CONCLUSION:
According to the present study, lower serum vitamin D3 levels are significantly associated with the occurrence of uterine fibroids and serum vitamin D3 levels inversely correlate with both uterine fibroids number and total uterine fibroids volume.