(Boston) According to a new study from the Slone Epidemiology Center (SEC) at Boston University, African-American women who reported sexual or physical abuse before age 11 had a greater risk of uterine fibroids in adulthood compared with women who had no such abuse history. The association was strongest for women who experienced sexual abuse.
The study, which is published online in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, was led by Lauren A. Wise, ScD, senior epidemiologist at SEC and associate professor of epidemiology at the Boston University School of Public Health.
This study followed 9,910 premenopausal African-American women from the Black Women's Health Study. In 2005, participants provided information on lifetime experiences of physical and sexual abuse during childhood (up to age 11), adolescence (ages 12-18), and adulthood (19 and older). The incidence of fibroids was ascertained from 2005 through 2011.
The results indicate that the incidence of uterine fibroids was increased by 16 percent among women who had been physically abused during childhood and by 34 percent among women who had been sexually abused during childhood. The risk of fibroids increased with increasing severity of child abuse. The results were weaker among women who reported high levels of coping, which is consistent with previous research showing that emotional support may buffer the negative health effects of violence. There was also little indication that abuse during adolescence and adulthood increased the risk of fibroids.
"This is the second prospective study to show an association between childhood abuse and uterine fibroids diagnosed during adulthood," said Wise. She noted that mechanisms might involve the influence of psychosocial stress on the biosynthesis or metabolism of sex steroid hormones, which are thought to be involved in fibroid development and growth. In addition, child sexual abuse is associated with sexuall
'/>"/>
| Contact: Jenny Eriksen Leary jenny.eriksen@bmc.org 617-638-6841 Boston University Medical Center Source:Eurekalert |
Related biology news :
1. Scientists find gene interactions that make cocaine abuse death 8 times more likely
2. Abuse during childhood linked to adult-onset asthma in African-American women
3. Addictive properties of drug abuse may hold key to an HIV cure
4. RI Hospital: Use of PMP may increase demand for drug treatment, reduce painkiller abuse
5. BUSM researchers find link between childhood abuse and age at menarche
6. Increasing clarity for medics in suspected physical abuse cases
7. Choline supplementation during pregnancy presents a new approach to schizophrenia prevention
8. Chromosome anchors organize DNA during cell division
9. Music with dinner: Whales sing during foraging season, not just while breeding
10. Insight into DNA reprogramming during egg and sperm cell development
11. OHSU study shows that a molecule critical to nerve cells increases drammatically during hypertension
| Copyright © 2003-2012 Bio-Medicine. All rights reserved. ABOUT | CONTACT US | DISCLAIMER | PRIVACY POLICY | TERMS AND CONDITIONS |  |