Women of childbearing age have been urged to engage in regular exercise, consume diets rich in vitamin D, reduce oral contraceptives and the consumption of red meat, and stay off alcohol if they must reduce the risk of uterine fibroid.
Speaking at a free quarterly seminar organised by Support Association for Fibroids Awareness, SAFA, a medical expert, Dr Tope Olowogbayi said although the cause of fibroid remains unknown, every woman can cut down her risk by becoming knowledgeable about non-modifiable and modifiable risk factors.
He informed that non-modifiable risk factors include family history, being of black race and reproductive age, while modifiable risk factors include body size, use of oral contraceptives and vitamin D deficiency,” Dr Olowogbayi explained.
According to him, by age 50, about 70 to 80 percent of women would have had it since women in their 30s and 40s are most at risk.
Speaking on the rationale behind the quarterly awareness seminar, the Manager, SAFA, Wemimo Adewuni lamented the prevalence of uterine fibroid in Nigeria.
“According to a 2023 study, the prevalence of fibroid is 51.9 percent for women between the ages of 26-35 and 44.6 percent for those between 36-45 years”.
