ISSN 0300-9092 (Print)
ISSN 2412-5679 (Online)

Study the modifying effect of obesity on uterine fibroid’s clinical characteristics in Syrian women

Alali O.M., Churnosov M.I.

Belgorod State National Research University, Belgorod, Russia

Objective: To evaluate the modifying effect of obesity on clinical manifestations of uterine fibroids (UF) in Syrian women.
Materials and methods: 1,000 Syrian women, ages 22–83, from different cities participated in the study, which ran from June 2023 to August 2024. They were divided based on obesity and disease into two groups: with obesity BMI ≥30 kg/m2 (160 patients and 146 controls), and without obesity BMI <30 kg/m2 (340 patients and 354 controls). The study employed a questionnaire consisting of 65 items that provided information on the clinical features and risk factors for the development of UF. Version 30 of SPSS was used to analyze data.
Results: Revealed the features of the clinical characteristics of the non-obese group that were statistically significant in patients compared to controls: an older age, a shorter menstrual cycle length and a lower rate of endometrial ablation, and didn't reveal specific features in the obese group. In both studied groups, obese and non-obese, in patients compared to controls, the age of menopause was earlier, and by the time elapsed since the last birth, the percentage was lower in the categories: ≤5 years and 11–15 years, while within the categories: 6–10 years, 16–19 years, and ≥20 years, it was higher.
Conclusion: This study demonstrated the modifying effect of obesity on clinical manifestations of UF in Syrian women. That will provide additional clarification of the impact of obesity on the risk/prevalence of UF, which will be beneficial for both its prevention and diagnosis.

Authors' contributions: Alali O.M., Churnosov M.I. – conception and design of the study; Alali O.M. – data collection and analysis, manuscript drafting; Churnosov M.I. – manuscript editing.
Conflicts of interest: The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.
Funding: There was no funding for this study.
Ethical Approval: The study was reviewed and approved by the Research Ethics Committee of the Belgorod State National Research University.
Patient Consent for Publication: All patients provided informed consent for the publication of their data.
Authors' Data Sharing Statement: The data supporting the findings of this study are available upon request from the corresponding author after approval from the principal investigator.
For citation: Alali O.M., Churnosov M.I. Study the modifying effect of obesity on 
uterine fibroid’s clinical characteristics in Syrian women.
Akusherstvo i Ginekologiya/Obstetrics and Gynecology. 2025; (11): 120-128 (in Russian)
https://dx.doi.org/10.18565/aig.2025.193

Keywords

uterine fibroid
leiomyoma
body mass index
obesity
overweight
risk factor

References

  1. Алали О.М., Чурносов М.И. Полногеномные исследования миомы матки. Акушерство и гинекология. 2023; 7: 28-38. [Alali O.M., Churnosov M.I. Genome-wide studies of uterine leiomyomas. Obstetrics and Gynecology. 2023; (7): 28-38 (in Russian)]. https://dx.doi.org/10.18565/aig.2023.156
  2. Ponomarenko I., Reshetnikov E., Polonikov A., Verzilina I., Sorokina I., Yermachenko A. et al. Candidate genes for age at menarche are associated with uterine leiomyoma. Front. Genet. 2021; 11: 512940. https://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fgene.2020.512940
  3. Alsudairi H.N., Alrasheed A.T., Dvornyk V. Estrogens and uterine fibroids: an integrated view. Research results in biomedicine. 2021; 7(2): 156-63. https://dx.doi.org/10.18413/2658-6533-2021-7-2-0-6
  4. Harmon Q.E., Patchel S., Denslow S., Wegienka G., Baird D.D. Body mass index and uterine fibroid development: a prospective study. J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab. 2024; 109(11): e2016-23. https://dx.doi.org/10.1210/clinem/dgae036
  5. Qin H., Lin Z., Vásquez E., Luan X., Guo F., Xu L. Association between obesity and the risk of uterine fibroids: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J. Epidemiol. Community Health. 2021; 75(2): 197-204. https://dx.doi.org/10.1136/jech-2019-213364
  6. Maghraby N., El Noweihi A.M., El-Melegy N.T., Mostafa N.A., Abbas A.M., El-Deek H.E. et al. Increased expression of fibroblast activation protein is associated with autophagy dysregulation and oxidative stress in obese women with uterine fibroids. Reprod. Sci. 2022; 29(2): 448-59. https://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s43032-021-00810-0
  7. Алали О.М., Чурносов М.И. Этиопатогенез миомы матки (обзор). Гинекология. 2023; 25(1): 22-30. [Alali O.M., Churnosov M.I. The etiopathogenesis of uterine leiomyomas: a review. Gynecology. 2023; 25(1): 22-30. (in English)]. https://dx.doi.org/10.26442/20795696.2023.1.201827
  8. Sparic R., Mirkovic L., Malvasi A., Tinelli A. Epidemiology of uterine myomas: a review. Int. J. Fertil. Steril. 2016; 9(4): 424-35. https://dx.doi.org/10.22074/ijfs.2015.4599
  9. Sharami S.H., Fallah Arzpeyma S., Shakiba M., Montazeri S., Milani F., Kazemi S. et al. Relationship of uterine fibroids with lipid profile, anthropometric characteristics, subcutaneous and preperitoneal fat thickness. Arch. Iran. Med. 2019; 22(12): 716-21.
  10. Pan H., Qin F., Deng F. Clinical value of body mass index and waist-hip ratio in clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis of uterine leiomyomata. Evid. Based Complemen. Alternat. Med. 2021; 2021: 8156288. https://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2021/8156288
  11. Manta L., Suciu N., Toader O., Purcărea R.M., Constantin A., Popa F. The etiopathogenesis of uterine fibromatosis. J. Med. Life. 2016; 9(1): 39-45.
  12. Gürbüz T., Yardımcı O., Udum S., Günay T. The relationship between body mass index and clinical complications among patients undergoing myomectomy. Journal of Surgery and Medicine. 2020; 4(11): 1027-30. https://dx.doi.org/10.28982/josam.805122
  13. Lee J.E., Song S., Cho E., Jang H.J., Jung H., Lee H.Y. et al. Weight change and risk of uterine leiomyomas: Korea Nurses’ Health Study. Curr. Med. Res. Opin. 2018; 34(11): 1913-9. https://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03007995.2018.1462783
  14. Haan Y.C., Diemer F.S., Van der Woude L., Van Montfrans G.A., Oehlers G.P., Brewster L.M. The risk of hypertension and cardiovascular disease in women with uterine fibroids. J. Clin. Hypertens (Greenwich). 2018; 20(4): 718-26. https://dx.doi.org/10.1111/jch.13253
  15. Sun K., Xie Y., Zhao N., Li Z. A case‑control study of the relationship between visceral fat and development of uterine fibroids. Exp. Ther. Med. 2019; 18(1): 404-10. https://dx.doi.org/10.3892/etm.2019.7575
  16. Muawad R., Dabbagh R., Sabr Y. Association of health and lifestyle factors with uterine fibroids among Saudi women: a case–control study. J. Taibah Univ. Med. Sci. 2022; 17(6): 1039-46. https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jtumed.2022.06.005
  17. Ciebiera M., Włodarczyk M., Słabuszewska-Jóźwiak A., Nowicka G., Jakiel G. Influence of vitamin D and transforming growth factor β3 serum concentrations, obesity, and family history on the risk for uterine fibroids. Fertil. Steril. 2016; 106(7): 1787-92. https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.fertnstert.2016.09.007
  18. Keizer A.L., Semmler A., Kok H.S., van Kesteren P.J.M., Huirne J.A.F., Hehenkamp W.J.K. Modifiable prognostic factors in uterine fibroid development: a systematic review of literature. J. Obstet. Gynaecol. 2024; 44(1): 2288225. https://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01443615.2023.2288225
  19. Turner B.M., Cramer S.F., Heller D.S., Tavassoli F.A. Apoplectic leiomyomas: does ethnicity make a difference? a clinicopathologic study. Virchows Arch. 2022; 480(3): 645-54. https://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00428-021-03225-z
  20. Donnez J., Dolmans M.M. Uterine fibroid management: from the present to the future. Hum. Reprod. Update. 2016; 22(6): 665-86. https://dx.doi.org/10.1093/humupd/dmw023
  21. Wise L.A., Laughlin-Tommaso S.K. Epidemiology of uterine fibroids: from menarche to menopause. Clin. Obstet. Gynecol. 2016; 59(1): 2-24. https://dx.doi.org/10.1097/GRF.0000000000000164
  22. Song S., Park S., Song B.M., Lee J.E., Cha C., Park H.Y. Risk of uterine leiomyomata with menstrual and reproductive factors in premenopausal women: Korea nurses’ health study. BMC Women's Health. 2023; 23(1): 305. https://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12905-023-02447-4
  23. Terry K.L., De Vivo I., Hankinson S.E., Missmer S.A. Reproductive characteristics and risk of uterine leiomyomata. Fertil. Steril. 2010; 94(7): 2703-7. https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.fertnstert.2010.04.065
  24. Yasui T., Hayashi K., Okano H., Kamio M., Mizunuma H., Kubota T. et al. Uterine leiomyomata: a retrospective study of correlations with hypertension and diabetes mellitus from the Japan Nurses’ Health Study. J. Obstet. Gynaecol. 2018; 38(8): 1128-34. https://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01443615.2018.1451987
  25. Stewart E.A., Cookson C.L., Gandolfo R.A., Schulze‐Rath R. Epidemiology of uterine fibroids: a systematic review. BJOG. 2017; 124(10): 1501-12. https://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1471-0528.14640
  26. Ponomarenko M.S., Reshetnikov E.A., Churnosova M.M., Reshetnikova Y.N., Churnosov V.I., Ponomarenko I.V. Comorbidity and syntropy of benign proliferative diseases of the female reproductive system: non-genetic, genetic, and epigenetic factors (review). Research Results in Biomedicine. 2023; 9(4): 544-56. https://dx.doi.org/10.18413/2658- 6533-2023-9-4-0-9
  27. Пономарева Т.А. Генетические варианты глобулина, связывающего половые гормоны, и гормональный профиль больных генитальным эндометриозом. Научные результаты биомедицинских исследований. 2025; 11(1): 75-90. [Ponomareva T.A. Genetic variants of sex hormone-binding globulin and hormonal profile in patients with genital endometriosis. Research Results in Biomedicine. 2025; 11(1): 75-90 (in Russian)]. https://dx.doi.org/10.18413/2658-6533-2025- 11-1-0-4
  28. Чурносов В.И. Ассоциации полиморфных локусов генов-кандидатов с уровнем половых гормонов у больных гиперплазией эндометрия. Научные результаты биомедицинских исследований. 2025; 11(2): 243-62. [Churnosov V.I. Associations of polymorphic loci of candidate genes with the level of sex hormones in patients with endometrial hyperplasia. Research Results in Biomedicine. 2025; 11(2): 243-62 (in Russian)]. https://dx.doi.org/10.18413/2658-6533-2025-11-2-0-3
  29. Nwonuma C., Irokanulo E., Bamgboye F., Akinduko A., Okeniyi F., Eigbe C. Uterine fibroid: risk factors and therapeutic interventions. In: 2024 International Conference on science, engineering and business for driving sustainable development goals (SEB4SDG), 2024 Apr 2. Omu-Aran, Nigeria: IEEE, 2024: 1-10. https://dx.doi.org/10.1109/SEB4SDG60871.2024.10630388
  30. Ahmed A., Sharif M.A. Prevalence and clinical characteristics of uterine fibroids in women of reproductive age in district hyderabad. The Research of Medical Science Review. 2025; 3(1): 635-47.

Received 15.07.2025

Accepted 15.10.2025

About the Authors

Ola Mohamad Alali, PhD student, Homs, Syria, Belgorod State National Research University, Belgorod, Russia, alali@bsuedu.ru, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4370-6719
Mikhail I. Churnosov, Dr. Med. Sci., Professor, Belgorod State National Research University, Belgorod, Russia, churnosov@bsuedu.ru, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1254-6134

Similar Articles