Obesity and endometrial hyperplasia and cancer in premenopausal women: A systematic review

Objective: To systematically review the literature on the association between obesity and endometrial hyperplasia or cancer in premenopausal women.

Data sources: We searched the bibliographic databases MEDLINE, EMBASE, PubMed, and CINAHL (inception to May 5, 2015), and checked reference lists of included studies and systematic reviews.

Study eligibility criteria: Studies of more than 50 women with endometrial pathology diagnosed during premenopause that reported on obesity as a risk factor were eligible.

Study appraisal and synthesis methods: Study identification and data extraction were independently performed by 2 authors. Where possible, data were pooled in a generic inverse variance forest plot. Heterogeneity was reported using the I(2) statistic.

Results: Nine case-control studies of moderate quality were included. Quantitative analysis of 5 studies showed a dose-response relationship of body mass index and increased risk of endometrial cancer. For studies of women with body mass index of ≥25, the pooled odds ratio was 3.85 (95% confidence interval 2.53-5.84); body mass index of ≥30 was 5.25 (4.00-6.90); and body mass index of ≥40 was 19.79 (11.18-35.03).

Conclusion: Body mass index is a consistent and leading risk factor for endometrial complex hyperplasia or cancer in premenopausal women. Body mass index should be considered when deciding to assess the endometrium in symptomatic premenopausal women.