Abstracts are provided in the language submitted.

Uterine leiomyomas or fibroids are benign neoplasms of uterine smooth muscle cells with connective tissue. Approximately 70% to 80% of women worldwide will develop uterine leiomyomas by the age of 50 with women of African descent carrying a higher epidemiological burden. Previous studies have investigated risk factors such as body mass index (BMI), oestradiol levels, and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in various genes for an Afro – Caribbean population. Numerous articles suggest higher skin pigmentation causes lower levels of vitamin D in black women leading to an increase in uterine leiomyoma. However, various sources of vitamin D include sun exposure, diet, and dietary supplements. Vitamin D is a proposed risk factor for uterine leiomyoma. As lower vitamin D levels may increase the pathogenesis of uterine leiomyoma. We seek to conduct a comparative meta-analysis of published research on vitamin D and uterine leiomyoma in women of African descent and Caucasian populations by utilising electronic databases. The electronic databases including PubMed, Web of Science, EBSCO, and Google Scholar were searched for relevant studies from 2000 until 2021. The following keywords were utilised in the search: “Uterine leiomyoma,” “Uterine fibroids,” “Vitamin D,” “Afro-Caribbean population,” “African-American women,” and “Caucasian women.” Generally, lower levels of circulating vitamin D are correlated to women with uterine leiomyoma (cases) than women without uterine leiomyoma (controls) for both Black and Caucasian populations. Ultimately, reports suggest that adequate levels of serum vitamin D decrease the risk of uterine leiomyoma. Keywords: Uterine leiomyoma, fibroids, vitamin D, Afro – Caribbean, Black women

Tracey Brathwaite