Health and socioeconomic well-being of women with endometriosis and provoked vestibulodynia: Longitudinal insights from Swedish registry data

Hanna Mühlrad, Matts Olovsson, Evelina Linnros, Philip Haraldson, Nina Bohm‐Starke
PloS one · 2024 · vol. 19(9) , pp. e0307412 · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0307412 · PMID:39226269 · W4402167713
article OA: gold CC0 ⤵ 1 in-corpus citation
🔓 Open OA copy View on OpenAlex View on PubMed View at publisher
⚙ AI-generated summary by claude@2026-06, 2026-06-08 ⓘ

Women diagnosed with endometriosis and/or provoked vestibulodynia show increased healthcare use, mental health issues, infertility, and labor market disadvantages from their teens through their 40s.

One-sentence paraphrase of the abstract; not a substitute for reading it. No clinical advice. How this works

Abstract

Endometriosis and provoked vestibulodynia (PVD) are prevalent pain conditions among women of reproductive age, significantly impacting their quality of life and psychological well-being. However, comprehensive evidence regarding the lifelong health and socioeconomic outcomes for these individuals remains scarce. Additionally, many prior studies rely on limited and sometimes unrepresentative samples. This study aims to inform on the long-term consequences of these disorders by examining health, fertility, and employment outcomes in a cohort of women diagnosed with endometriosis and/or PVD, tracing their experiences from childhood to their 40s. Leveraging nationwide administrative data from Sweden and employing a matched case-control design, we investigate both similarities and differences between women with these diagnoses and those without. Our findings indicate that women diagnosed with endometriosis and/or PVD demonstrate elevated healthcare utilization patterns, commencing in their early teenage years and progressively increasing over time. Notably, disparities in labor market outcomes emerge in their 20s, showcasing lower labor earnings and a rise in sickness benefit receipt. Moreover, our results show a higher likelihood among these women to experience mental health disorders and concurrent chronic pain diseases, as well as infertility. While the association between endometriosis and infertility is well-documented, this study offers novel insights into a potential similar link between PVD and infertility. Our study informs healthcare professionals and policymakers about the considerable burden of compromised health, adverse psychosocial well-being, and reduced productivity in the labor market faced by young women with these common pain conditions. These findings underscore the urgency of addressing the multifaceted challenges encountered by individuals diagnosed with endometriosis and PVD across their lifespan.

My notes (saved in your browser only)

Condition tags

mesh:D004715endometriosisinfertility

MeSH descriptors

Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Registries

Citation neighborhood

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. [ expand to 2 hops ] — adds papers reached through this work's immediate citers/citees. Heavier; up to 60 extra dots.

References (42)

Cited by (1)

Source provenance

europepmc
last seen: 2026-06-04T01:30:01.192114+00:00
openalex
last seen: 2026-06-10T17:14:06.276822+00:00
pmc
last seen: 2026-05-13T20:22:03.195721+00:00
pubmed
last seen: 2026-06-04T00:32:28.536610+00:00
License: CC0 · commercial use OK