Endometriosis

Definition Endometriosis (EM) is a common, gynecological, inflammatory disorder defined by the presence of benign but metastatic endometrial tissue implants outside of the uterus (Giudice 2010). Histologically, the lesions consist of endometrial glands and stroma and often are infiltrated by hemosiderin-laden macrophages, nerves, and capillaries. Description EM can be asymptomatic, but it often is associated with severe dysmenorrhea (painful menstruation or “cramps”), pelvic pain (intermittent non-menstrual or continuous pain in the lower abdomen), dyspareunia (pain during sexual intercourse), and infertility (Guo and Wang 2006). The prevalence of pelvic EM is about 10% in the general population, whereas it approaches 35–50% in symptomatic premenopausal women (Rogers et al. 2017), with annual costs of work productivity loss per employed woman varying from US$208 in Nigeria to US$23,712 in Italy (Nnoaham et al. 2011). The etiology of this disease involves a complex interplay of... Access this chapter Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout Purchases are for personal use only References and Further Reading Ahn, S., Monsanto, S., Miller, C., Singh, S., Thomas, R., & Tayade, C. (2015). Pathophysiology and immune dysfunction in endometriosis. BioMed Research International, 2015, 795976. American Society for Reproductive Medicine. (1997). Revised American Society for Reproductive Medicine classification of endometriosis: 1996. Fertility and Sterility, 67(5), 817–821. Asante, A., & Taylor, R. N. (2011). Endometriosis: The role of neuroangiogenesis. Annual Review of Physiology, 73, 163–182. Brown, J., & Farquhar, F. (2015). An overview of treatments for endometriosis: JAMA clinical evidence synopsis. JAMA, 313(3), 296–297. Chen, L., Hsu, J., Huang, K., Bai, Y., Su, T., Li, C., et al. (2016). Risk of developing major depression and anxiety disorders among women with endometriosis: A longitudinal follow-up study. Journal of Affective Disorders, 190, 282–285. De Graaff, A. A., Dirksen, C. D., Simoens, S., De Bie, B., Hummelshoj, L., D’Hooghe, T. M., & Dunselman, G. A. (2015). Quality of life outcomes in women with endometriosis are highly influenced by recruitment strategies. Human Reproduction, 30(6), 1331–1341. Friedl, F., Riedl, D., Fessler, S., Wildt, L., Walter, M., Richter, R., et al. (2015). Impact of endometriosis on quality of life, anxiety, and depression: An Austrian perspective. Archives of Gynecology and Obstetrics, 292(6), 1393–1399. Giudice, L. C. (2010). Clinical practice: Endometriosis. New England Journal Medicine, 362(25), 2389–2398. Guan, X., Nguyen, M. T., Walsh, T. M., & Kelly, B. (2016). Robotic single-site endometriosis resection using firefly technology. Journal of Minimally Invasive Gynecology, 23(1), 10–11. Guo, S. W., & Wang, Y. (2006). The prevalence of endometriosis in women with chronic pelvic pain. Gynecologic and Obstetric Investigation, 62(3), 121–130. Kaatz, J., Solari-Twadell, P. A., Cameron, J., & Schultz, R. (2010). Coping with endometriosis. Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic, and Neonatal Nursing, 39(2), 220–225. Kavoussi, S. K., Lim, C. S., Skinner, B. D., Lebovic, D. I., & As-Sanie, S. (2016). New paradigms in the diagnosis and management of endometriosis. Current Opinion in Obstetrics & Gynecology, 28(4), 267–276. Nnoaham, K. E., Hummelshoj, L., Webster, P., d’Hooghe, T., de Cicco, N. F., et al. (2011). Impact of endometriosis on quality of life and work productivity: A multicenter study across ten countries. Fertility and Sterility, 96, 366–373. Opien, H. K., Fedorcsak, P., Byholm, T., & Tanbo, T. (2011). Complete surgical removal of minimal and mild endometriosis improves outcome of subsequent IVF/ICSI treatment. Reproductive Biomedicine Online, 23, 389–395. Rogers, P., Adamson, G. D., Al-Jefout, M., Becker, C. M., D’Hooghe, T. M., Dunselman, G. A. et al. (2017). Research priorities for endometriosis: Recommendations from a global consortium of investigators in endometriosis. Reproductive Sciences, 24(2), 202–226. Rowlands, I. J., Teede, H., Lucke, J., Dobson, A. J., Mishra, G. D. (2016). Young women’s psychological distress after a diagnosis of polycystic ovary syndrome or endometriosis. Human Reproduction, 31(9), 2072–2081. Siedentopf, F., Tariverdian, N., Rucke, M., Kentenich, H., & Arck, P. C. (2008). Immune status, psychosocial distress and reduced quality of life in infertile patients with endometriosis. American Journal of Reproductive Immunology, 60(5), 449–461. Sinaii, N., Cleary, S. D., Ballweg, M. L., Nieman, L. K., & Stratton, P. (2002). High rates of autoimmune and endocrine disorders, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome and atopic diseases among women with endometriosis: A survey analysis. Human Reproduction, 17(10), 2715–2724. Author information Authors and Affiliations Corresponding author Editor information Editors and Affiliations Section Editor information Rights and permissions Copyright information © 2020 Springer Nature Switzerland AG About this entry Cite this entry Lenk, E.E., Ditzen, B., Wieser, F., Taylor, R.N. (2020). Endometriosis. In: Gellman, M.D. (eds) Encyclopedia of Behavioral Medicine. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-39903-0_14 Download citation DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-39903-0_14 Published: Publisher Name: Springer, Cham Print ISBN: 978-3-030-39901-6 Online ISBN: 978-3-030-39903-0 eBook Packages: MedicineReference Module Medicine