A number of factors influence the risk of developing fibroids. These include:

Heredity: If your mother or sister had fibroids, you’re at increased risk of developing them.

Number Of Pregnancies: Women with one or more pregnancies that extended beyond 5 months have a decreased risk of fibroid formation.

Use Of Birth Control Pills: Use of birth control pills can generally protects against fibroids, but use of the pill at an early age (between age 13 and 16) may be associated with an increased risk.

Smoking: Women who smoke appear to have a decreased risk of having fibroids. This may be due to the estrogen lowering effect of smoking. However, this does not encourage smoking based on other side effects of smoking.

Diet: Eating large amounts of red meats is associated with an increased risk, and consumption of green vegetables decreases risk. However, no study has shown that changes in diet lead directly to changes in the incidence or symptoms of fibroids.

Ethnic Background: Fibroids are 2 to 3 times more common in Negroid women than in Caucasians.

Among women undergoing hysterectomy (removal of the uterus), black women are significantly more likely to have fibroids, they are also more likely to be younger at the time of diagnosis and hysterectomy, and likely to have more severe problems associated with fibroids than their white counterparts.