New research shows that endometriosis is more common among women who are tall and lean in childhood.
The study "Birth weight, childhood body mass index and height and risks of endometriosis and adenomyosis" revealed that girls who were tall and lean when they were young are more at risk of later developing endometriosis.
Endometriosis, according to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services - Office of Women's Health, occurs when tissue similar to the lining of the uterus grows outside of the uterus. This could happen to more than 11% of American women between 15 and 44.1
“Body size during these ages is an indicator for later risk,” said Dr. Jennifer Baker, a co-author of the research from the University of Copenhagen and Frederiksberg hospital in Denmark. “It really tells us that the roots of this disease lie earlier in life than people have previously thought,” she said.
Moreover, a link between lower childhood body mass index (BMI) and a higher risk of being diagnosed with endometriosis has been identified by researchers. For seven-year-old girls of average height, a child of average weight records an 8% lower risk of endometriosis than a child who weighed 2.3kg less.
“By 13 [years old] for two girls with an average height, the one who weighs 6.8kg less has a 6% increased risk,” said Baker.
The findings were based on data from more than 170,000 women born in Denmark between 1930 and 1996. Danish school-based health programs had children's height and weight recoded between the ages of seven and 13 years.
The researchers also examined hospital data, including mid-2017 records of endometriosis or adenomyosis, a condition in which tissues similar to the lining of the womb grow in its muscular walls, in those aged 15 or older. Data shows that 2,149 women were diagnosed with endometriosis, and 1,410 with adenomyosis.
Fat distribution
Krina Zondervan, professor of reproductive and genomic epidemiology at the University of Oxford, pointed out that other research uncovered that the link between BMI and endometriosis could be explained by the distribution of fat throughout the body.
“Fat distribution differences are strongly hormonally regulated, as is risk of endometriosis,” said Zondervan. “Childhood height is more influenced by nutritional as well as genetic factors [than oestrogen]. More work needs to be done to understand this link.”
