Clinical, Laboratory and Imaging Characteristics of Women with Uterine Fibroid: A Cross-Sectional Study from Iran

Abstract

Background & Objective: Uterine fibroids (UFs) are the most common pelvic tumors among women at reproductive age, affecting women’s quality of life even their confidence with its symptoms. We designed a study to investigate the clinical, laboratory, and imaging characteristics of Iranian women with UF. Materials & Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed from April 2016 to September 2022 at Imam Hossein hospital (Tehran, Iran). We included all women with UF referring to the Obstetrics and Gynecology Clinic of Imam Hossein Hospital. Based on a checklist, a research team interviewed the patients to investigate clinical characteristics. Also, we explored laboratory and transvaginal sonography (TVS) findings of all patients. Results: The mean age of 439 studied patients was 44.47±8.80 years (range: 23-81). The most prevalent underlying disease was hypertension (17.1%), followed by thyroid diseases (15.7%) and diabetes mellitus (13.7%). The patients mainly complained of AUB (abnormal menstrual bleeding) (60.0%) and abdominal pain (23.7%). The mean NLR (neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio) and the mean PLR (platelet to lymphocyte ratio) were significantly higher than the normal upper limit (P<0.001). The largest diameter of UF was 49.89±47.92 mm. Most fibroids were located anteriorly (43.1%). The multivariate linear regression model revealed that age (β=-0.931, 95%CI= (-1.657,-0.204), P=0.012) and number of fibroid (β=22.418, 95%CI= (16.360, 28.476), P<0.001) could predict the size of fibroid. Conclusion: Our results showed that NLR and PLR were increased in UF patients. It seems that patient’s age and number of fibroids may be the predictive factors for UF's size.