Researchers at the University of Arizona Health Sciences and the Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública in Mexico are using a $2.2 million National Institutes of Health grant to explore the link between infertility and long-term health issues among Hispanic women of Mexican heritage. According to recent research, female infertility is often associated with greater risks of cancer, cardiovascular disease and premature mortality.
Hispanic women are up to 70% more likely to experience infertility than white women, yet little is known about their long-term health. "Hispanics are the largest minority group in the United States, and 60% of Hispanics have Mexican heritage. We need to know more about infertility and related health risks in this group," said Leslie Farland, ScD, an associate professor at the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health and member of the U of A Cancer Center who is collaborating with Dalia Stern, PhD, of the Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública to lead the study.
"We hope this project is the first step toward personalized screening recommendations that improve women's health and lengthen women's lives." Researchers hope to determine the risk of breast cancer and gynecological cancers, including endometrial and ovarian cancer, for women with a history of infertility compared with those who have given birth. They also will investigate the risk of heart disease and premature mortality for women with a history of infertility.
The goal of the study, whic.