Red
hair gene not linked to endometriosis
Contrary to what has been suggested by some "cross-sectional"
studies, red hair colour is not associated with a higher
or lower risk of endometriosis, the results of a prospective
study indicate.
However, the association may be affected by fertility
status.
Previous reports have identified alterations in coagulation
(clotting) and immune function among women with red
hair. In addition, reports from cross-sectional studies
have shown endometriosis to be more common among such
women.
Dr Stacey Missmer, from Harvard Medical School in Boston,
and colleagues investigated this association by analysing
data from the Nurses' Health Study II, an ongoing prospective
study.
More than 90,000 women were included in the analysis
and the main endpoint was confirmed endometriosis.
A total of 1,130 cases of endometriosis were identified
during 379,422 person-years of follow-up, the report
indicates.
Red hair colour was not tied to endometriosis in the
overall analysis, which accounted for a variety of factors,
such as parity (the number of times a woman has given
birth) and body mass index. However, there was a suggestion
that red hair colour slightly increased the risk of
endometriosis among women who had never been infertile,
but decreased the risk among those who were infertile.
"Further investigation into the potential linkage
between red hair colour and coagulation or immune dysfunction
may explain the observed difference in the association
between hair colour and endometriosis with concurrent
infertility vs. endometriosis without infertility,"
the authors conclude.
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