Abnormal uterine bleeding affects 1 in 3 women of reproductive age and is a disorder which is often debilitating. Despite the known impact of obesity on reproductive health, little is known about the effect of obesity on heavy menstrual bleeding.

Reavey et al. used a two-pronged approach involving mouse models and human participants to investigate this. From the human study, the authors found that body mass index positively correlated with the extent of menstrual blood loss. To gain mechanistic insight, the authors utilised a mouse model with induced menstrual bleeding and randomisation to a high or a low fat diet. Mice fed a high fat diet showed delayed endometrial repair in comparison with females given a low fat diet. A potential increase in uterine pro-inflammatory mediators was observed.

This may suggest a link between obesity and a pro-inflammatory local endometrial environment, which may affect endometrial repair rate.

Read the full article in Journal of Endocrinology 249 71–82