Uterine leiomyomas, serum cholesterol, and oral contraceptives. A preliminary study of epidemiologic differences in Los Angeles, California and Albany, New York.

In order to determine the feasibility of a large-scale study to investigate the relationship of serum cholesterol levels to the presence or absence of uterine leiomyomas, the medical records of 67 women aged from 30 to 39 who underwent hysterectomies at UCLA Hospital, Los Angeles, and Albany Medical Center, Albany, New York were reviewed. The women at UCLA were more likely to have a history of oral contraceptive use than were the women in Albany; they also had higher serum cholesterol values. In both hospitals, increasing age was associated with the presence of leiomyomas, and oral contraceptive use was associated with absence of pathology in the resected uterus. In Albany, but not in Los Angeles, oral contraceptive uterus. In Albany, but not in Los Angeles, oral contraceptive use was associated with elevated serum cholesterol, As expected, uterine weight and presence of leiomyomas were strongly associated. It was concluded that serum cholesterol levels were apparently unrelated to presence of uterine leiomyomas and to uterine weight in this group of women. Recommendations are made for the design of a case-control study to further investigate both the cholesterol-leiomyoma relationship and the other results reported here.