Lipid Profile Patterns in Women with Uterine Fibroids: A Case-Control Study in Northwestern Nigeria

Abstract

Uterine fibroids (leiomyomas) are benign uterine smooth-muscle tumors with high prevalence among women of African descent. Emerging evidence suggests lipid metabolic dysregulation may play a role in fibroid development and growth. This study aimed to evaluate the lipid profile pattern of women diagnosed with uterine fibroid. We conducted a hospital- based case-control study from April, 2022 to February, 2023 at a tertiary health care facility, Northwest Nigeria. Women aged 18–50 years with ultrasound-confirmed uterine fibroids (cases; 115) were compared to age and parity‐matched controls without fibroids (115). Fasting serum lipid profile (total cholesterol [TC], triglycerides [TG], high-density lipoprotein cholesterol [HDL-C], low-density lipoprotein cholesterol [LDL-C]) were measured colorimetrically. Statistical analyses included t-tests adjusted for age, body mass index and parity. Patients had significantly higher mean HDL-C (p = 0.000), Triglyceride (p = 0.001) with lower TC: HDL-C (p = 0.000) when compared with the controls. Higher insignificant mean Cholesterol in patients was observed compared to the controls (p = 0.050). There was no statistically significant difference in LDL-C between patients and controls (p = 0.296). Our findings in this Nigerian
population align with the notion that lipid metabolism may contribute to fibroid pathophysiology.