In a study published this week, researchers at Northwestern Medicine have demonstrated a causal link between environmental phthalates and the increased growth of uterine fibroids, the most common tumors among women.
Nearly 80% of women will develop a uterine fibroid in their lifetime, and African American women are disproportionately impacted.
Dr. Serdar Bulun, chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and a Northwestern Medicine physician, led the study.
“We asked the question whether environmental pollutant phthalates are associated with fibroid growth and the answer we found was yes,” Dr. Bulun said.
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The specific phthalate researchers studied is known as DEHP. It can be found in anything from shower curtains and lunch boxes to shoes and medical equipment.
“I would be cautious about using products that have phthalates in them,” Dr. Bulun said.
He also said more research needs to be done to determine the exact correlation.
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Chicagoan Saudia Davis is an advocate for uterine fibroid patients.
Davis spent years hiding her stomach, which had a large bulge that people would often mistake for pregnancy. An ultrasound led to the discovery for uterine fibroids.
“I was like, ‘Wow, I’ve got a lot of them.’ The size of a grapefruit is how it started,” Davis said.
During the pandemic, the largest fibroid grew to the size of a bowling ball. “The one thing that concerns me is I don’t understand why it got so big,” Davis said.
The research being done by Dr. Bulun and his team at Northwestern Medicine hopes to answer that question.
