High prevalence of autoimmune diseases in women with endometriosis: a case-control study

M G Porpora, Maria Grazia Porpora, Sara Scaramuzzino, S Scaramuzzino, Scaramuzzino S, Sangiuliano C, Camilla Sangiuliano, C Sangiuliano, I Piacenti, Ilaria Piacenti, Piacenti I, V Bonanni, Bonanni V, Valentina Bonanni, Piccioni MG, M G Piccioni, Maria Grazia Piccioni, Ostuni R, R Ostuni, Luisa Masciullo, L Masciullo, Benedetti Panici PL, P. L. Benedetti Panici
Gynecological endocrinology : the official journal of the International Society of Gynecological Endocrinology · 2019 · vol. 36(4) , pp. 356–359 · doi:10.1080/09513590.2019.1655727 · PMID:31476950 · W2971597867
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This case-control study found a significantly higher prevalence of inflammatory bowel disease, systemic lupus erythematosus, celiac disease, and autoimmune thyroiditis in women with endometriosis compared to controls.

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Abstract

The immune system seems to be involved in the pathogenesis of endometriosis. Peritoneal chronic inflammation is present and natural killer cells and macrophages abnormalities have been reported in women with the disease. Moreover, a higher production of serum autoantibodies has been found, which could be related to various factors; some still need to be clarified. The correlation between endometriosis and autoimmune diseases is still unclear with few and conflicting available data. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of autoimmune diseases, as conditions with a possible common pathogenetic factor, in women affected by endometriosis, in order to address future research on its pathogenesis. This retrospective case-control study includes one hundred and forty-eight women with endometriosis and 150 controls. All women were aged between 18 and 45. Informed consent was obtained from all participants of the study. Considered autoimmune diseases include systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), celiac disease (CD), inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), and autoimmune thyroiditis. Statistical comparison of patients and control group was performed by means of chi-square test or Fisher's exact test as appropriate. Statistical comparison of parametric variable (age) among the groups was performed by t-test for unpaired data. Age was expressed as mean. A value of .05 or less was considered as significant. In the case group, five patients were affected by IBD, while the disease was not observed in the control group (p = .07). SLE was found in eight patients in the case group, while only one was found in the control group (p = .01). Fifteen women in the case group were affected by CD, while the disease was present only in one woman in the control group (p<.0001). A significant correlation was also found between endometriosis and autoimmune thyroiditis: 80 patients with endometriosis had thyroid diseases versus 14 patients in the control group (p<.0001). Our study reports an association between endometriosis and autoimmune disorders, showing a higher prevalence of autoimmune diseases in women affected by endometriosis. These results support a possible autoimmune pathogenesis of endometriosis.

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Condition tags

endometriosis

MeSH descriptors

Autoimmune Diseases Endometriosis Peritoneal Diseases Adolescent Adolescent Adult Adult Autoimmune Diseases Autoimmune Diseases Autoimmune Diseases Case-Control Studies Case-Control Studies Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Female Female Hashimoto Disease Hashimoto Disease Hashimoto Disease

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Papers in the corpus that this work cites (lower rings, blue) and that cite this one (upper rings, green). Dot size scales with the paper's in-corpus citation count — bigger dot = more influential within the endo/adeno field. Click a dot to open that paper. Outer rings show 2-hop neighbours — papers reached through the immediate citers/citees. [ collapse to 1-hop ]

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