In recent weeks, two major stories have brought renewed attention to the complex web of factors shaping women’s health outcomes in the United States—stories that, taken together, reveal how medical challenges, social determinants, and personal courage intersect in the lives of millions of women.
On August 11, 2025, ABC News anchor Linsey Davis stepped forward in both People magazine and a special ABC broadcast to share her deeply personal struggle with uterine fibroids, a condition that will soon lead her to undergo a hysterectomy. Her candid account, echoed by other public figures and experts, highlights not only the silent suffering endured by countless women but also the disproportionate impact of fibroids on Black women in America. At the same time, new research out of Arizona has underscored how neighborhood deprivation—where one lives, in other words—can sharply raise the risk of gestational diabetes during pregnancy, adding yet another layer to the conversation about health disparities.
Both stories, published on August 12, 2025, paint a picture of women’s health that is shaped as much by biology as by environment, access, and cultural silence.
Linsey Davis, age 47, revealed that her journey with fibroids began 13 years ago, when she was first diagnosed in 2012. At the time, doctors described her condition as mild, warning that it might complicate future fertility. “I suffered in silence,” Davis told People magazine. “It’s not something that I would talk to anybody about other than the gynecologist.” Nevertheless, she and her husband, Paul Roberts, went on to welcome their son, Ayden, in 2014.
But the relief was short-lived. About six years later, Davis began to experience a dramatic worsening of symptoms: heavy bleeding, periods stretching up to two weeks, excruciating pelvic pain, and bloating so severe that she appeared six months pregnant. In 2020, she underwent a myomectomy to remove six fibroids, which provided temporary respite. Yet by early 2024, doctors found that 13 new fibroids had developed—forcing Davis to confront a difficult decision. “At that point, I was just in a state of mind like, I just wanna get rid of them,” she explained. Ultimately, she scheduled a hysterectomy, set for August 15, 2025. “I feel confident that my life will be better,” she said, though she acknowledged the emotional weight of the choice.
One particularly painful moment came during the Oscars pre-show in March 2025, when her bloating was visible in her dress, leading to public speculation about whether she was pregnant. “It was such an embarrassing moment … but it is a pouch that, you know, happens,” Davis recalled during the ABC special. The experience, she said, cemented her decision to pursue surgery.
Davis’s story is far from unique. According to Johns Hopkins, fibroids affect over 70% of women by age 50, and more than 80% of Black women in the U.S. The reasons for this higher prevalence among Black women aren’t fully understood, but experts point to genetics, vitamin D deficiencies, and persistent disparities in healthcare access as likely contributors, as reported by the Mayo Clinic.
While hysterectomy is considered the definitive treatment for fibroids, other options exist, including myomectomy, uterine artery embolization, hormonal therapies, and newer noninvasive procedures. Still, studies show that more than half of women undergo hysterectomy as a first-line treatment, with Black women at an even higher risk for surgical intervention. Davis hopes that by speaking out, she can help others feel less isolated in their struggles. “If I had known earlier what I was dealing with and known other people’s stories, I wouldn’t have felt like I was suffering silently,” she said.
As Davis’s story was making headlines, a study published in Pediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology in 2024 brought fresh urgency to another aspect of women’s health: the role of neighborhood deprivation in gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). The population-based study, which analyzed data from the Arizona Pregnancy, Environment, and Children’s Health Study (AzPEARS), found that women living in resource-poor neighborhoods faced a 20% higher odds of developing GDM compared to those in more affluent areas.
To reach these findings, researchers developed a neighborhood deprivation index (NDI) based on eight socioeconomic indicators, linking data from the American Community Survey to U.S. Census tracts. After adjusting for factors such as maternal age, race and ethnicity, education, rurality, parity, and birth year, they found that the risk ratio for GDM among mothers in the most deprived neighborhoods versus the least deprived was 1.21 (with a 95% confidence interval of 1.18 to 1.26). The overall statewide incidence of GDM in Arizona was 7.8%, though rates ranged from 4% to 12% depending on the neighborhood.
The study also found significant disparities among racial and ethnic groups. Native American, Asian, and Hispanic women reported the highest GDM rates at 16.6%, 13.7%, and 8.3%, respectively. Notably, Native American mothers experienced an over two-fold increased rate compared to the general population. Researchers emphasized the need for place-based interventions in high-risk neighborhoods and called for further research to understand and address maternal health disparities, especially among Native American mothers.
“Where you live can influence your health. It can impact stress, access to quality food, the ability to interact with the outdoors and exercise – all factors that can affect health,” said Dr. Melissa Furlong, senior author and assistant professor at the University of Arizona Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health. “This is only a characterization of people who live in these areas who have a higher risk for diabetes. We’d like to know many more details about the neighborhoods themselves and how they can impact the health of people who live there.”
The consequences of gestational diabetes extend far beyond pregnancy. A study published on June 24, 2025, reported a 30-year incidence stroke rate of 1.3% in women with GDM, with a total cumulative incidence rate of 1.9%. By comparison, the rates for the general population were 0.9% and 1.6%, respectively. These findings highlight the long-term health risks that can follow pregnancy complications, and underscore the importance of early intervention and prevention—especially in communities already facing socioeconomic challenges.
While the stories of Linsey Davis and the women in the Arizona study differ in their details, they share a common thread: the urgent need to break the silence around women’s health issues, to understand how social and economic factors shape outcomes, and to ensure that all women—regardless of race, neighborhood, or background—have access to the care and support they need. As more women speak out and as research sheds light on the roots of health disparities, the hope is that future generations will face fewer barriers and less suffering in silence.
