Does endometriosis affect professional life? A matched case-control study in Switzerland, Germany and Austria

Marita Lina Sperschneider, Michael P Hengartner, Alexandra Kohl Schwartz, Alexandra Kohl-Schwartz, Kirsten Geraedts, Martina Rauchfuss, Martina Rauchfuß, Monika Martina Woelfler, Felix Haeberlin, Stephanie von Orelli, Markus Eberhard, Franziska Maurer, Bruno Imthurn, Patrick Imesch, Brigitte Leeners
BMJ open · 2019 · vol. 9(1) , pp. e019570 · doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2017-019570 · PMID:30782670 · W2910932867
article OA: gold CC0 ⤵ 45 in-corpus citations
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⚙ AI-generated summary by claude@2026-06, 2026-06-07 ⓘ

This case-control study found that women with endometriosis were less likely to work in their desired profession and more frequently considered health limitations in career decisions, with chronic pain linked to increased sick leave and productivity loss.

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Abstract

Objectives Endometriosis is a gynaecological disease most commonly causing severe and chronic pelvic pain as well as an impaired quality of life. The aim of this study was to investigate if and how endometriosis affects choices regarding professional life as well as the quality of daily working life. Design, setting and participants In the context of a multicentre case–control study, we collected data from 505 women with surgically/histologically confirmed diagnosis of endometriosis and 505 matched controls. Study participants were recruited prospectively in hospitals and doctors’ practices in Switzerland, Germany and Austria. Using a detailed questionnaire, the study investigated work–life and career choices of study participants. Main outcome measures Associations between endometriosis/disease symptoms and limitations in career development as well as ability to work. Results Women with endometriosis were less often able to work in their desired profession than women from the control group (adjusted OR=1.84, 95% CI: 1.15 to 2.94, R 2 =0.029, p=0.001) and they had to take health-related limitations into consideration in their career decisions to a significantly higher degree than women in the control group (OR=4.79, 95% CI: 2.30 to 9.96, R 2 =0.063, p<0.001). Among women with endometriosis, chronic pain was significantly associated with increased sick leave (OR=3.52, 95% CI: 2.02 to 6.13, R 2 =0.072, p<0.001) as well as with loss of productivity at work (OR=3.08, 95% CI: 2.11 to 4.50, R 2 =0.087, p<0.001). Conclusions Endometriosis is associated with impairment of professional life, in particular with regard to career choices. Further research to develop strategies to support endometriosis-affected women in realising professional opportunities is recommended. Trial registration number NCT02511626 ; Pre-results.

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Condition tags

mesh:D004715mesh:D017699endometriosischronic_pelvic_pain

MeSH descriptors

Employment Endometriosis Pelvic Pain Quality of Life Sick Leave Adult Austria Case-Control Studies Chronic Pain Cross-Sectional Studies Endometriosis Endometriosis Female Germany Humans Logistic Models Middle Aged Occupational Health Pelvic Pain Sick Leave

Citation neighborhood

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