Prevalence and main characteristics of uterine myoma in reproductive-aged women belonging to major ethnic groups in the Baikal region: a cross-sectional study
Authors:   Scientific Centre for Family Health and Human Reproduction Problems, Irkutsk, Russian Federation, Babaeva N.I. , Nadelyaeva Ya.G. ,   Scientific Centre for Family Health and Human Reproduction Problems, Irkutsk, Russian Federation, Danusevich I.N. ,   Scientific Centre for Family Health and Human Reproduction Problems, Irkutsk, Russian Federation, Lazareva L.M. ,   Scientific Centre for Family Health and Human Reproduction Problems, Irkutsk, Russian Federation, Egorova I.Yu. ,   Scientific Centre for Family Health and Human Reproduction Problems, Irkutsk, Russian Federation, Atalyan A.V. ,   Scientific Centre for Family Health and Human Reproduction Problems, Irkutsk, Russian Federation, Belenkaya L.V. ,   Scientific Centre for Family Health and Human Reproduction Problems, Irkutsk, Russian Federation, Sholokhov L.F. ,   Scientific Centre for Family Health and Human Reproduction Problems, Irkutsk, Russian Federation, Suturina L.V. ,   Scientific Centre for Family Health and Human Reproduction Problems, Irkutsk, Russian Federation
Published: January 2025

The prevalence of uterine myoma (UM) among reproductive-aged women varies, and the underlying epidemiological characteristics and outcomes of UM differ significantly in some ethnic groups.
Objective. To study the epidemiology and determine the ultrasound characteristics and main clinical manifestations of UM in reproductive-aged women representing a multi-ethnic population in the Baikal region.
Patients and methods. In the period from 2016 to 2019, a multi-center cross-sectional study was conducted at the base of institutions in cities and districts of the Irkutsk region and the Republic of Buryatia. The subjects of the study were women indicated for annual physical examination at their place of work. The study included 1347 participants of reproductive age (34.33 ± 6.37 years) who met the inclusion criteria and were distributed as follows: 867 (64.37%) Caucasian, 361 (26.80%) Asian and 119 (8.83%) Caucasian-Asian women. All participants underwent general clinical, gynecological, and pelvic ultrasound examinations.
Results. The prevalence of UM among reproductive-aged women was 14.69% (198/1347) and reached 14.89% when the history of hysterectomized women was analyzed. The prevalence of UM was found to increase with age. On average, no statistically significant differences in UM prevalence were found between subpopulations of different ethnicity: 13.73% (119/867) in Caucasian women, 18.01% (65/361) in Asian women, and 11.76% (14/119) in the group of women of mixed ethnicity (px2 = 0.099). Further review of data from hysterectomized women revealed a trend towards more frequent detection of UM in Asian women compared to Caucasians (pz = 0.053). Interstitial myomatous nodes were most common (74.75%), and subserosal myomatous nodes were the largest (39.51 ± 164.43 cm3). Adenomyosis was the most common concomitant gynecological pathology in women with UM.
Conclusion. As a result of this study, the prevalence of UM among reproductive-aged women in the Baikal region was established (14.69%), and the main characteristics of the disease were determined both among the examined patients in general and in different ethnical groups.
Key words: uterine myoma, prevalence, reproductive age, pelvic ultrasound, ethnics