Can symptomatology help in the diagnosis of endometriosis? Findings from a national case-control study--Part 1

KD Ballard, Ballard KD, K D Ballard, H E Seaman, HE Seaman, Seaman HE, de Vries CS, C S de Vries, CS de Vries, Wright JT, J. Timothy Wright, J T Wright
BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology · 2008 · vol. 115(11) , pp. 1382–1391 · doi:10.1111/j.1471-0528.2008.01878.x · PMID:18715240 · W2152861053
Observational OA: closed CC0 ⤵ 370 in-corpus citations
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This case-control study found that abdominopelvic pain, dysmenorrhea, menorrhagia, subfertility, dyspareunia, ovarian cysts, and more frequent doctor consultations were significantly associated with endometriosis diagnosis.

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Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To determine the value of patient-reported symptoms in diagnosing endometriosis. DESIGN: A national case-control study. SETTING: Data from the UK General Practice Research Database for years 1992-2001. SAMPLE: A total of 5540 women aged 15-55 years, diagnosed with endometriosis, each matched to four controls without endometriosis. METHODS: Data were analysed to determine whether specific symptoms were highly indicative of endometriosis. Odds ratios for these symptoms were derived by conditional logistic regression analysis. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Symptoms associated with endometriosis. RESULTS: The prevalence of diagnosed endometriosis was 1.5%. A greater proportion of women with endometriosis had abdominopelvic pain, dysmenorrhoea or menorrhagia (73%) compared with controls (20%). Compared with controls, women with endometriosis had increased risks of abdominopelvic pain (OR 5.2 [95% CI: 4.7-5.7]), dysmenorrhoea (OR 8.1 [95% CI: 7.2-9.3]), menorrhagia (OR 4.0 [95% CI: 3.5-4.5]), subfertility (OR 8.2 [95% CI: 6.9-9.9]), dyspareunia and/or postcoital bleeding (OR 6.8 [95% CI: 5.7-8.2]), and ovarian cysts (OR 7.3 [95% CI: 5.7-9.4]), and of being diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) (OR 1.6 [95% CI: 1.3-1.8]) or pelvic inflammatory disease (OR 3.0 [95% CI: 2.5-3.6]). Women with endometriosis were also found to consult the doctor more frequently than the controls and were twice as likely to have time off work. CONCLUSIONS: Specific symptoms and frequent medical consultation are associated with endometriosis and appear useful in the diagnosis. Endometriosis may coexist with or be misdiagnosed as pelvic inflammatory disease or IBS.

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Condition tags

dysmenorrheadyspareuniaendometriosisirritable_bowel_syndrome

MeSH descriptors

Endometriosis Adolescent Adolescent Adult Adult Body Mass Index Body Mass Index Case-Control Studies Case-Control Studies Dysmenorrhea Dysmenorrhea Dyspareunia Dyspareunia Dyspareunia Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Family Practice Family Practice Family Practice

Citation neighborhood (2-hop)

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 ]

References (39)

Cited by (50)

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