Association between uterine fibroids and hypertension among women of reproductive age in Eastern Sudan: a matched case–control study

The association between uterine fibroids and hypertension is not yet settled. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the association between fibroids and hypertension in women of reproductive age in Sudan. A matched case-control study (107 in each arm) was conducted at New Halfa Hospital, Eastern Sudan. The cases were nonpregnant women of reproductive age diagnosed with uterine fibroids confirmed by ultrasound, while the controls were nonpregnant women without uterine fibroids. The women's sociodemographic characteristics and clinical data were assessed via a questionnaire. Conditional logistic regression analysis was performed. There was no significant difference between the two groups regarding age, parity, body mass index (BMI), and hemoglobin. However, compared with the controls, a significantly higher number of women with uterine fibroids had hypertension, [46 (43.0%) versus 22 (20.6%), P = 0.001]. Multivariable logistic regression showed that women with hypertension (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 2.26, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.14-4.48) were positively associated with uterine fibroids. BMI, education level, occupational status, and marital status were not associated with uterine fibroids. Our study revealed that uterine fibroids are significantly positively associated with hypertension among women of reproductive age in Sudan. This supports the literature calling for further analysis of the shared risk factors and underlying mechanisms of such an interconnected association between hypertension and uterine fibroids.