{"paper_id":"ab009e92-d8b7-4bc3-907a-a10dddb518da","body_text":"Abstract\nEndometriosis is a chronic inflammatory condition characterized by the appearance of endometrial-like tissue outside the uterus, which often causes chronic pelvic pain. Recently, endometriosis was described as a systemic disease affecting both physical and mental health. It is estimated that about 190 million or 10% of reproductive-age women could be affected worldwide. Despite being underdiagnosed and understudied, it is one of the most frequent diseases in women. Symptoms of endometriosis significantly reduce the quality of life in affected individuals and include different levels of pelvic pain, dysmenorrhea, dysuria, dyspareunia, and infertility. Individuals with endometriosis often have comorbidities, including psychiatric disorders, such as anxiety disorder, major depressive disorder, and eating disorders. Research is in the early phase of discovering the molecular mechanisms linking endometriosis to mental health. Early-stage research has also proposed a hypothesis about an “endometriosis brain,” demonstrating brain activity in pain-processing regions. This chapter explains the link between endometriosis and mental health based on epidemiological, genetic, and neurobiological evidence. In addition, endometriosis research is illustrated with a case-study example of a recent endometriosis study investigating the molecular link to selected mental health illnesses.\nSimilar content being viewed by others\nAbbreviations\n- ADHD:\n-\nAttention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder\n- CI:\n-\nConfidence interval\n- DGKB:\n-\nDiacylglycerol kinase beta\n- OR:\n-\nOdds ratio\n- rg:\n-\nGenetic correlation\n- SNP:\n-\nSingle nucleotide polymorphism\nReferences\nAdewuyi EO et al (2021) Genetic analysis of endometriosis and depression identifies shared loci and implicates causal links with gastric mucosa abnormality. Hum Genet 140:529–552\nAgarwal SK et al (2019) Clinical diagnosis of endometriosis: a call to action. Am J Obstet Gynecol 220:354.e1–354.e12\nAlbert PR (2015) Why is depression more prevalent in women? 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(eds) Handbook of the Behavior and Psychology of Disease. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-32046-0_101-1\nDownload citation\nDOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-32046-0_101-1\nReceived:\nAccepted:\nPublished:\nPublisher Name: Springer, Cham\nPrint ISBN: 978-3-031-32046-0\nOnline ISBN: 978-3-031-32046-0\neBook Packages: Living Reference Behavioral Science and PsychologyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences","source_license":"CC0","license_restricted":false}