Psychosocial impacts of endometriosis

Over half individuals with endometriosis, a chronic gynaecological condition, meet the criteria for at least one psychiatric disorder (see Pope, Sharma, Sharma, & Mazmanian, 2015 for a review), with around 80% reporting symptoms of depression (Sepulcri & Amaral, 2009) and anxiety (González-Echevarría, Rosario, Acevedo, & Flores, 2019). However, chronic pelvic pain, the most common symptom of endometriosis (Bulletti, Coccia, Battistoni, & Borini, 2010), has been inconsistently related to poor mental health in endometriosis (Márki, Bokor, Rigó, & Rigó, 2017; Petrelluzzi, Garcia, Petta, Grassi-Kassisse, & Spadari-Bratfisch, 2008; Pope et al., 2015; van Aken et al., 2018). As such, research has begun to focus on psychological predictors of endometriosis-related distress, such as body image (Facchin et al., 2017), given the concerns expressed by individuals with endometriosis over their body's appearance and functioning in qualitative studies (Facchin, Saita, Barbara, Dridi, & Vercellini, 2018; Jones, Jenkinson, & Kennedy, 2004; Roomaney & Kagee, 2018; Rush & Misajon, 2018). Yet, to date the research on body image and psychological distress in endometriosis has been largely preliminary, using cross-sectional data (Facchin et al., 2017; Rush & Misajon, 2018). This study aims to extend the literature on psychological distress in endometriosis by collecting prospective data to explore the predictive role of poor body image on depression and anxiety in endometriosis, and the underlying mechanisms and potential buffers of this relationship.