What are the causes of uterine fibroids?

In modern society, with economic development, the pressure of our life and work is constantly increasing. In such an environment, the incidence rate of human tumors is greatly increased. For women, it is uterine fibroids. Some people will be curious about the causes of uterine fibroids. In fact, the cause of uterine fibroids is still not very clear in medicine, but it is related to many factors.

We know that the causes of tumor diseases are very complex. Our own physical and psychological factors, the declining air quality in the environment we live in, and changes in our eating habits all have an impact. Let’s take a closer look.

Uterine fibroids are the most common benign tumors of the female reproductive organs, common in women aged 30 to 50, and rare in women under 20 years old. According to statistics, at least 20% of women of childbearing age suffer from uterine fibroids. Because most uterine fibroids have no or few clinical symptoms, the reported clinical incidence rate is much lower than the actual incidence rate of fibroids.

There are many risk factors that contribute to the development or growth of uterine fibroids. Factors that increase the risk of uterine fibroids include: maternal use of estrogen during pregnancy, young age at menarche, nulliparity, late childbearing, obesity, African Americans, and tamoxifen. Factors that reduce the risk of uterine fibroids include exercise, multiple births, menopause, and oral contraceptives.

Modern medicine believes that uterine fibroids are hormone-dependent tumors. Uterine fibroids are common during the childbearing years, are rare before puberty, and shrink or disappear after menopause. Studies have shown that estrogen and progesterone synergistically promote the growth of fibroids. The main mechanism may be that estrogen in the follicular phase upregulates estrogen and progesterone receptors on uterine smooth muscle, and then progesterone promotes the mitotic activity of fibroids in the luteal phase, thereby stimulating the growth of fibroids.

There are increased expression levels of multiple growth factors and their receptors in uterine fibroids, which are considered to be mediators or effectors of the upregulation of ovarian sex hormones during uterine fibroid formation. However, the possibility of abnormal primary regulation of one or more growth factors cannot be ruled out. Uterine fibroids usually contain excessive extracellular media, which mainly contain fibroblasts and the collagen types I and III they produce. Myoma cells interact with fibroblasts and various growth factors, providing a suitable microenvironment for the formation and growth of myomas.

The causes of uterine fibroids are very complicated. In addition to the points mentioned above, it may also be related to genetic factors and related chromosomal mutations. Therefore, if there are cases of uterine fibroids in your family, then your chances of developing uterine fibroids will be higher than those who do not. When uterine fibroids are found, you should go to the hospital for follow-up in time and take active treatment measures.