thought to be lower than the incidence in the US. United States Eighty percent of African American women will develop benign uterine fibroid tumors by their late 40s, according to the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. African American women are two to three times more likely to get fibroids than Caucasian women. In African American women fibroids seem to occur at a younger age, grow more quickly, and are more likely to cause symptoms. This leads to higher rates of surgery for African Americans, both myomectomy, and hysterectomy. Increased risk of fibroids in African Americans causes them to fare worse in in-vitro fertility treatments and raises their risk of premature births and delivery by Caesarean section. It is unclear why fibroids are more common in African American women. Some studies suggest that black women who are obese and who have high blood pressure are more likely to have fibroids. Other suggested causes include the tendency of African American women to consume food with less than the daily requirements for vitamin D. Related legislation United States The 2005 S.1289 bill was read twice and referred to the committee on Health, Labor, and Pensions but never passed for a Senate or House vote; the proposed Uterine Fibroid Research and Education Act of 2005 mentioned that $5 billion is spent annually on hysterectomy surgeries each year, which affect 22% of African Americans and 7% of Caucasian women. The bill also called for more funding for research and educational purposes. It also states that of the $28 billion issued to NIH, $5 million was allocated for uterine fibroids in 2004. Other animals Uterine fibroids are rare in other mammals, although they have been observed in certain dogs and Baltic grey seals. Research Selective progesterone receptor modulators, such as progenta, have been under investigation. Another selective progesterone receptor modulator asoprisnil is being tested with promising results as a possible use as a treatment for fibroids, intended to provide the advantages of progesterone antagonists without their adverse effects. Low dietary intake of vitamin D is associated with the development of uterine fibroids. Notes References External links NIH Fibroid Treatment Study: Information and NIH research Gynaecological neoplasia Benign neoplasms Wikipedia medicine articles ready to translate Uterine tumour