NEW YORK -- Women of child-bearing age who undergo tubal sterilization are at increased risk of developing ovarian cysts, Reuters quoted Seattle-based investigators as reporting in the August issue of the journal Obstetrics and Gynecology.

"Because tubal sterilization is the most commonly used contraceptive method in the United States, this association merits further investigation in larger studies including women 40 years and older who are more likely to have this exposure," Dr. Victoria L. Holt from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and colleagues write.

Holt's team reviewed the medical and pharmacy records of 392 women between the ages of 18 and 39 years who were diagnosed over a 4-year period with an ovarian cyst measuring 2 centimeters or greater. Six hundred twenty-three women of the same age who were not diagnosed with an ovarian cyst were used for comparison. The investigators also conducted in-person interviews with the ovarian cyst patients.

The researchers found that women who had undergone tubal sterilization were "substantially" more likely (70%) to have been diagnosed with an ovarian cyst than were women using nonhormonal or no contraception.

The increased risk of ovarian cyst associated with sterilization "persisted or increased" when the researchers evaluated only the women with painful or large cysts or those who were diagnosed during surgery.

Holt and colleagues say they know of only one other study that has looked at the association between tubal sterilization and ovarian cyst risk. In that study, conducted in Mexico, sterilized women had a two-fold greater risk of ovarian cysts than did non-sterilized women (24.1% versus 12.4%).