Journal
FERTILITY AND STERILITY
Volume 94, Issue 5, Pages 1627-1631Publisher
ELSEVIER SCIENCE INC
DOI: 10.1016/j.fertnstert.2009.07.1698
Keywords
Cancer; infectious disease; endocrine disease; endometriosis
Categories
Funding
- Zeneca Pharmaceuticals
- Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
- Clinical Center, National Institute of Health, Bethesda, Maryland
- Endometriosis Association, International Headquarters, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
- Endometriosis Association
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Objective: To assess the prevalence of patient-reported, physician-diagnosed comorbid conditions in women with endometriosis. Design: Cross-sectional study of self-reported survey data. Setting: Academic research. Patient(s): Four thousand three hundred thirty-one Endometriosis Association (EA) members reporting surgically diagnosed endometriosis. Intervention(s): None. Main Outcome Measure(s): Self-reported, physician-diagnosed infectious diseases, cancers, and endocrine diseases. Result(s): Nearly two-thirds of women reported one or more of the assessed conditions. Recurrent upper respiratory infections and recurrent vaginal infections were common and more likely in women responding to the EA survey. Melanoma was reported by 0.7% (n = 29), breast cancer by 0.4% (n = 16), and ovarian cancer by 0.2% (n = 10). While ovarian cancer and melanoma were significantly more common than in the general population, breast cancer was surprisingly less common. Addison's disease and Cushing's syndrome were rare (0.2% and 0.1%, respectively). Conclusion(s): Respondents reported a higher prevalence of recurrent upper respiratory or vaginal infections, melanoma, and ovarian cancer than the general population. These findings document other potential associations related to the immune system, which may help focus future research into this disease. (Fertil Steril (R) 2010;94:1627-31. (C) 2010 by American Society for Reproductive Medicine.)
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