6 health risks of endometriosis you didn’t know about

Endometriosis also increases your risk of autoimmune diseases and cancer.

Sandhya Raghavan | Updated: December 5, 2017 6:36 am

Endometriosis brings excruciating pain, pain during sex, heavy menstrual bleeding and risk of infertility. Unfortunately, the diagnosis also comes with a host of other health risks too. A medical condition that affects women in their childbearing age, endometriosis is caused when the inner lining of the uterus — the endometrium– starts growing outside the uterus for some unknown reasons. During menses, the outer lining responds to hormonal surge, thereby causing inflammation and severe pain. It is also a leading cause of infertility among women. If you are someone struggling with this debilitating disorder, you need to take good care of your health and well being, because there are many associated risks of endometriosis. Here are some of them.

1 You are at higher risk of hyperprolactinaemia

There is a correlation between high levels of serum prolactin and endometriosis. Hyperprolactinaemia is responsible for causing irregular menses, discharge from breasts, painful intercourse and vaginal dryness, acne and hirsutism.¹

2 You are higher risk of fibromyalgia

Women with endometriosis also have associated risk of fibromyalgia, where one experiences pain in the muscles and joints, fatigue, impaired sleep, memory problems and mood disorders. How certain lifestyle changes can help reduce symptoms of endometriosis. Researchers believe that the risk of fibromyalgia is twice in women who have endometriosis. But there is no explanation why the two are related.² Have pineapples and apples for endometriosis

3 You are higher risk of allergies, asthma and eczema

Women with endo suffer frequently from other autoimmune inflammatory diseases like allergies and asthma. A study conducted to examine this correlation showed a positive connection between prevalence of allergies and endometriosis in women. They were more likely to suffer from diseases like asthma and eczema.³ Here are certain diet do’s and don’ts for endometriosis

4 You at are higher risk of heart diseases

A study published in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes American Heart Association reveals that women with endometriosis, especially those who are 40 or younger, have an elevated risk of developing heart diseases. The 20-year-old follow up also revealed that women suffering from endo are likely to have 1.35 times more likely to need surgery or stenting to open blocked arteries, 1.52 times more likely to have a heart attack and 1.91 times more likely to develop angina (chest pain).⁴

5 You have a higher risk of autoimmune diseases

Endometriosis is not considered an autoimmune condition but studies point towards a higher incidence of autoimmune diseases in women suffering from endometriosis. Diseases such as lupus, Sjögren’s syndrome, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis and coeliac disease are commonly seen in women with endo.² ⁵

6 You are at risk of ovarian cancer

A study published in Cancer & Cancer Control journal confirms that endometriosis is associated with increased risk of ovarian cancer. However, it bears no relation to increased risk of uterine or endometrial cancer. In fact, many other studies that examined this relationship all pointed towards a possible association between the two diseases.⁶

Reference:

1.Esmaeilzadeh, S., Mirabi, P., Basirat, Z., Zeinalzadeh, M., & Khafri, S. (2015). Association between endometriosis and hyperprolactinemia in infertile women. Iranian journal of reproductive medicine, 13(3), 155.
2.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.
3.Matalliotakis, I., Cakmak, H., Matalliotakis, M., Kappou, D., & Arici, A. (2012). High rate of allergies among women with endometriosis. Journal of obstetrics and gynaecology, 32(3), 291-293.
4.Mu, F., Rich-Edwards, J., Rimm, E. B., Spiegelman, D., & Missmer, S. A. (2016). Endometriosis and risk of coronary heart disease. Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes, 9(3), 257-264.
5.Eisenberg, V. H., Zolti, M., & Soriano, D. (2012). Is there an association between autoimmunity and endometriosis?. Autoimmunity reviews, 11(11), 806-814.
6.Poole, E. M., Lin, W. T., Kvaskoff, M., De Vivo, I., Terry, K. L., & Missmer, S. A. (2017). Endometriosis and risk of ovarian and endometrial cancers in a large prospective cohort of US nurses. Cancer Causes & Control, 28(5), 437-445.

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Published: December 4, 2017 5:35 pm | Updated:December 5, 2017 6:36 am

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