(Katherine Lang/ Medical News Today) — Uterine fibroids (also known as leiomyoma or ‘myoma’) are muscular tumors that grow in the uterus. It is hard to work out exactly how many women have fibroids because 75% do not cause symptoms severe enough to require treatment, so self-reports will underestimate the prevalence.
On the other hand surveys in gynaecological clinics will overestimate how many women are affected with reports of up to 70% of women. One international online survey of women with heavy bleeding suggested rates of 5-10%. Uterine fibroids are almost always benign (non-cancerous).
Fibroids can range in size from very small to about the size of a grapefruit. Often they have no symptoms, but they can cause pain, heavy menstrual bleeding, and pressure on the bladder and rectum, particularly if large.
Anyone with a uterus can develop fibroids, and the likelihood of developing them increases with age.
Now, a study, published in the BMJ Open, has suggested that a sedentary lifestyle may also increase the risk of developing fibroids, particularly in the years leading up to menopause.
However, this cross-sectional, observational study cannot show a causal link but only an association. (…)