Endometriosis in the Black Women’s Health Study

Little is known about the incidence of endometriosis among Black women. Endometriosis is characterized by the presence of endometrial tissue external to the uterine cavity and is common among reproductive-aged women.  We have been funded to study novel risk factors for endometriosis in both Black and White women, pooling data from the Black Women’s Health Study (BWHS) and Nurses’ Health Study (NHS), two large prospective cohort studies of U.S. women.  Risk factors of interest include autoimmune diseases, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, type 2 diabetes, myocardial infarction, ischemic stroke, reproductive, and hormonal factors.