High Meat Intake May Raise Odds of Endometriosis

  July 19, 2004

NEW YORK - What a woman eats can influence her risk of endometriosis, according to a new study.
Endometriosis occurs when endometrial tissue, which normally lines the uterus, grows elsewhere in the pelvis. The new research indicates that women who eat the most green vegetables or fresh fruit have a reduction in risk for the condition, while those who eat the most beef or ham have an increased risk.

While endometriosis is relatively common, little is known about its cause, the authors explain in a report in the medical journal Human Reproduction.

Dr. Fabio Parazzini from the University of Milan, Italy, and colleagues surveyed 504 women with endometriosis, and 504 age-matched "controls" regarding their dietary habits.

The risk was significantly reduced among women with the highest intake of green vegetables (a 70-percent risk reduction) or fresh fruit (a 40-percent reduction), the researchers report, and significantly increased among women with the highest intake of beef and other red meat (a doubling of risk) and ham (a 1.8-fold increase).

In contrast, consumption of milk, liver, carrots, cheese, fish, whole grain foods, coffee, alcohol, butter, margarine, and oil were not significantly related to endometriosis.

"With a prevalence of 5 percent in endometriosis in Italy," Parazzini said in a news release, "this means that if our findings are confirmed in prospective studies, we have the potential to cut the prevalence of endometriosis to around 3-4 percent."

That would translate to about 200,000 fewer cases in Italy and "probably" 800,000 fewer cases in Europe.

SOURCE: Human Reproduction, July 15, 2004.