Endometriosis linked to decreased fertility: Study

Endometriosis is associated with decreased fertility before diagnosis of the disease, according to new research published Wednesday. Endometriosis is a chronic inflammatory condition that affects about 10 percent of women of childbearing age. Tissue from the lining of the uterus grows in other places, such as the ovaries and fallopian tubes.

Researchers from Helsinki University Hospital in Finland found that the number of first live births in the period before endometriosis was diagnosed was half that of women without the painful condition. This was the case regardless of the type of endometriosis the women had: ovarian, peritoneal, deep endometriosis, or other types.

In addition, the researchers found evidence that women who had children before they were diagnosed with endometriosis had a significantly lower number of births than women who did not have endometriosis. “Our findings suggest that doctors who see women with painful menstruation and chronic pelvic pain should consider the possibility of endometriosis and treat them effectively,” said Professor Oskari Heikinhimo at the university.

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“Physicians should discuss with these women the potential effects on their fertility in addition to the effects of their age and reduce the loss of fertility by offering relevant treatment for endometriosis without delay,” she added.

Typical symptoms of endometriosis include painful periods, pain in the pelvic area, difficult or painful intercourse, and difficulty getting pregnant. Correct diagnosis is often delayed for about seven years. Surgery has traditionally been the ‘gold standard’ for diagnosing the condition and classifying the type of endometriosis, although diagnosis by ultrasonographic findings or symptoms alone is currently accepted.

Until now, little is known about live birth rates among women with endometriosis, and little is known about the potential effects of different types of endometriosis on fertility, especially in the years before diagnosis. “Given the chronic nature of endometriosis and the general long delay in diagnosis, we wanted to find out whether there were differences in first birth rates before diagnosis in a larger group of women in the population,” Professor Heikinhimo said.

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In the study, published in the journal Human Reproduction, the team looked at 18,324 women aged 15 to 49 in Finland who had surgical verification of endometriosis between 1998 and 2012. They matched them with 35,793 women of similar age who did not have endometriosis. Diagnose endometriosis.

A total of 7,363 women (40 percent) with endometriosis and 23,718 women without endometriosis (66 percent) gave birth to a live child during an average follow-up period of 15.2 years. The results showed that over the decades, women with endometriosis showed a rapid decrease in first live birth rates, compared with women without endometriosis.