Pelvic pain, ovarian cysts and endometriosis in adolescent girls

Paul L. Wood
In: Paediatric and Adolescent Gynaecology · 2004 · pp. 359–372 · doi:10.1017/cbo9780511527036.030 · W1761459078
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⚙ AI-generated summary by claude@2026-06, 2026-06-10 ⓘ

This paper examines pelvic pain, endometriosis, and ovarian cysts in adolescent girls, highlighting their potential for negative long-term outcomes like subfertility and chronic pain.

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⚙ AI-generated deep summary by claude@2026-06, 2026-06-10 ⓘ

This chapter reviews the legacy of adolescent pelvic pathology and pelvic pain, focusing specifically on endometriosis and ovarian cysts as key causes of pelvic pain in adolescent girls, and discusses their interrelationships with chronic pelvic pain outcomes such as subfertility, adhesions, and chronic pelvic pain. It draws on existing epidemiologic data (including UK primary care estimates) and summarizes literature on diagnostic challenges, including the lack of a consensus definition for chronic pelvic pain that hinders epidemiologic study. A major limitation is that the chapter emphasizes limited data available and broader uncertainties around definitions and diagnosis timing, which can lead to delayed diagnosis or inappropriate treatment. Relevance to endometriosis: the paper’s main topic is a chapter titled “Pelvic pain, ovarian cysts and endometriosis in adolescent girls,” explicitly exploring endometriosis alongside ovarian cysts as causes and predictors of pelvic pain in adolescence.

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Abstract

The legacy of pelvic pathology and pelvic pain in adolescence is not inconsiderable in later life, with ramifications from both the actual pathological processes and their management. The main negative outcomes include subfertility, adhesion formation and chronic pelvic pain. Although these are in general well-recognized causative implications, the general awareness of their origins in the adolescent period is less well acknowledged. As a result, diagnosis may be delayed or treatment may be inappropriate, with consequent negative long-term outcomes for the individual. The lack of a consensus in the definition of chronic pelvic pain greatly hinders epidemiological studies. However, and despite limited data, the prevalence of chronic pelvic pain in the population appears to be high, with an annual prevalence in primary care in the UK of 38/1000 in women, a rate comparable to asthma (37/1000) and back pain (41/1000) (Zondervan & Barlow, 2000). The significance of two defined causes of pelvic pain in adolescence, endometriosis and ovarian cysts, will be explored first prior to an overall review of pelvic pain in this age group. The subject matter will nevertheless overlap throughout this chapter, given the inevitable close interrelationships that exist between pelvic pain, endometriosis and ovarian cysts. For instance, deep endometriosis, pelvic adhesions and ovarian cystic endometriosis are all independent predictors of pelvic pain (Porpora et al., 1999).

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Condition tags

endometriosischronic_pelvic_pain

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