TASK ORDER 18 - SELF III

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This work is a continuation of a prospective study of risk factors for fibroids in a population of young African-American women—the SELF Study. The study’s three primary hypotheses are: (1) vitamin D deficiency is a risk factor for fibroid incidence; (2) reproductive tract infection is a risk factor for fibroid incidence and; (3) a higher proportion of African ancestry is a risk factor for fibroid incidence. Two secondary hypotheses include (1) cosmetics with estrogenic or progestin-like activity increase the risk of fibroids and; (2) prenatal and early life exposures (e.g., preterm birth, preeclampsia, soy-based formula) influence risk of fibroids. In addition to testing these hypotheses, the study collected a broad spectrum of information including data on recognized risk factors (e.g., age of menarche, pregnancy history, alcohol use), common exposures with inconsistent risk estimates in the literature (e.g., body mass index, oral contraceptive use), exposures of interest for which there is very limited literature (e.g., diet, exercise), and detailed symptom data, especially menstrual bleeding.