Managing the physical and emotional effects of endometriosis
Endometriosis is known to affect 5-10% of the general population, but some women are underdiagnosed due to physical and psychological disability. Due to the symptoms including dysmenorrhea, dyspareunia, chronic pelvic pain and infertility, endometriosis has a negative effect on the quality…
Key Points Lay SummarySelf-management and the quality of life in women with endometriosis
Endometriosis symptoms can range from mild to severe. The most common presenting complaints are mainly pelvic pain and infertility. There is no doubt that the physical and mental quality of life of these women is adversely affected. There are several studies…
Key Points Lay SummaryExploring Pelvic Pain: Deep to Ischial Spine Including Pre-Sacral Roots - A. Taner Usta, MD
Chronic pelvic pain is defined as pain in the pelvic area that lasts for 6 months or longer and results in functional or psychological disability or requires intervention and treatment by the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecologists. There are…
Key Points Lay SummaryPsychometric properties of Endometriosis Health survey-Swedish version
Endometriosis is a chronic estrogen-dependent disease resulting in a broad spectrum of symptoms and signs including dysmenorrhea, dyspareunia, chronic pelvic pain, and infertility. Additionally, gastrointestinal and urinary systems may be affected by this disease. All of these clinical findings impair…
Key Points Lay SummarySexual Quality of Life in Women With Endometriosis
Painful intercourse, more severe period pain, worse health-related quality of life, and unemployment are all associated with worse sexual quality of life in women with endometriosis. This is according to a Dutch study published in the scientific journal Sexual Medicine.…
Key Points Lay SummaryDepression and anxiety levels in "in vitro fertilization" patients with endometriosis
Endometriosis is a reproductive-aged and estrogen-dependent disease. The most common symptoms of this disease are dysmenorrhea, dyspareunia, chronic pelvic pain, and infertility affecting the quality of life in several aspects mainly the psychological domain. In the literature, there are many studies…
Key Points Lay SummaryPain and Quality of Life Following Surgical Treatment for Endometriosis
Currently, laparoscopy is the preferred approach as a surgical treatment of endometriosis. Many studies have shown the effectiveness of laparoscopic surgery to reduce the painful symptoms and improve the quality of life for patients with endometriosis in the short term…
Key Points Lay SummaryFactors affecting the quality of life of women with endometriosis
Results from a new study suggest that the quality of life of women with endometriosis is significantly affected by their confidence to manage pain and their belief in the evolution of their condition. In this study, led by Rees M. et…
Key Points Lay SummaryThe Impact of Painful Sex on the Physical and Mental Wellbeing of Adolescent and Young Adult Women
Clinicians should ask adolescents and young women about painful sex, not just talk about contraception and the prevention of sexually transmitted diseases. This is because painful sexual intercourse could have a negative impact on relationships and peer engagement, which is…
Key Points Lay SummaryHysterectomy as a choise of chronic pelvic pain relief in endometriotic women.
Sandstrom et al. from the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology of Umea University, Sweden, found a significant and long-lasting reduction in pain symptoms after hysterectomy among women with confirmed endometriosis and recently published their results in "BJOG". The authors performed…
Key Points Lay SummaryThe effect of endometriosis on the quality of life
Endometriosis, the disease defined as the localization of endometrial glandular and stromal tissue outside the uterine cavity, can be diagnosed in the reproductive-aged women with an incidence of 7-15%. However, endometriosis is observed in women with chronic pelvic pain syndrome…
Key Points Lay SummaryFatigue from the viewpoint of patients with endometriosis
Fatigue, feeling spoonie, is documented as a significant symptom of endometriosis in many studies. Researchers from three different institutions dealing with reproductive health conducted individual interviews with patients reporting moderate to severe endometriosis-related pain to better understand endometriosis-related fatigue and…
Key Points Lay SummaryHysterolaparoscopy Plus Assisted Reproduction Improves Fertility in Women with Endometriosis
Hysteroscopy and laparoscopic surgery is an effective and reliable therapeutic procedure, confirmed a study published in the "Journal of Clinical Medicine". The approach is even more effective when combined with assisted reproductive techniques such as artificial insemination and in vitro…
Key Points Lay SummaryWhen to do - and when not to do surgery for endometriosis
Endometriosis is an estrogen-dependent disorder. It was estimated to affect about 176 million women in the world and usually causes pelvic pain and infertility. Unfortunately, the current understanding of this disease is very limited. Though there are many remaining questions,…
Key Points Lay SummaryPatients with Pelvic Pain Most Likely to Benefit from Endometriosis Surgery
Women who experience higher levels of pain are more likely to show improvement in their quality of life (QoL) following endometriosis surgery, according to a study published in The Journal of Minimally Invasive Gynecology. Chronic pelvic pain seems to be…
Key Points Lay SummaryThe postoperative functional outcomes of deep infiltrating endometriosis
Rectosigmoid endometriosis is defined as the infiltration of the bowel wall with the endometrial-like glands and stroma, reaching at least the muscular layer. The most commonly involved sites are the rectum and sigmoid colon. For the management of deep infiltrating…
Key Points Lay SummaryPreoperative factors to predict unresponsiveness in women undergoing endometriosis surgery
Endometriosis is defined as the localization of endometrial glandular and stromal cells outside the uterine cavity. Despite extensive research, the optimal management of endometriosis still remains unclear. Several treatment options include analgesic medication, hormonal treatments, and surgical intervention. There is…
Key Points Lay SummaryImpact of Endometriosis-Related Adhesions on Quality of Life among Infertile Women
Endometriosis is considered the most common cause of pelvic adhesions in women. It is considered one of the main underlying causes of the development of adhesions. Adhesions are bands of connective tissue, which connect two different tissues that are normally…
Key Points Lay SummaryAssistive Reproduction a Suitable Option for the Treatment of Endometriosis-Associated Infertility
Assistive reproductive techniques do not lead to a worsening in quality of life and only cause a slight worsening of pelvic pain, according to a study published in the scientific journal Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica. This is the case…
Key Points Lay SummaryEndometriosis-associated pain control by contraceptive implant or intrauterine system
Endometriosis is defined as the localization of endometrial glandular and stromal cells outside the uterine cavity. The most common symptoms are dysmenorrhea, dyspareunia, and chronic pelvic pain, all of which affect the quality of women’s lives. Several studies investigating the…
Key Points Lay SummaryWill Getting Pregnant Make My Pain Go Away?
Pregnancy can relieve the symptoms of endometriosis, according to a new study published in the European Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Reproductive Biology. However, for most women, the pain usually returns like in the case of hormonal therapy. This…
Key Points Lay SummaryQuality of life for women with endometriosis
Endometriosis symptoms may cause difficulties in daily activities and social life, altering general health and personal relationships and severely decrease the quality of life. Yoldemir T. evaluates the factors affecting the quality of life in endometriosis patients and the management strategies in…
Key Points Lay SummaryEndometriosis Surgery Reduces Pain and Improves Quality of Life
Endometriosis surgery improves pelvic and sexual pain according to a study published in the Journal of Minimally Invasive Gynecology. This improvement stays stable over time meaning that the benefits of surgery last for years. In order to assess the effect…
Key Points Lay SummaryPain and emotion regulation predict health-related quality of life
Studies have established that pain in endometriosis is negatively correlated with HRQL and that endometriosis is associated with psychological problems, anxiety, depression, distress and poor coping ability. It has been observed that some mental conditions associated with endometriosis are modulated…
Key Points Lay SummaryWomen recommended laparoscopy for chronic pelvic pain
Chronic pelvic pain is a diagnostic and therapeutic dilemma. It has many etiologies in many organ systems. Clinician and patient factors affect the management of chronic pelvic pain. Mirowska-Allen K.L. et al. have recently published an article titled, “The characteristics of…
Key Points Lay SummaryComparing opioid and nonopioid therapy for chronic pain
Over the last few decades, North-America and Europe show continued increase in prescription rates of opioids. Evidence shows significant pain reduction with opioids in the short term compared to placebo, however whether opioids are superior to non-opioids even in the…
Key Points Lay SummaryImpact of coping strategies on quality of life of adolescents and young women with endometriosis.
González-Echevarría et al. report in J Psychosom Obstet Gynaecol. that symptoms caused by endometriosis have been found to be associated with negative quality of life (QoL) in women with endometriosis and the type of coping strategies adopted by patients have been shown…
Key Points Lay SummaryHealth-related quality of life in women with Endometriosis and Rheumatoid Arthritis
Endometriosis is a chronic inflammatory disease that is defined by the presence of ectopic endometrial tissue outside of the uterus. Unfortunately, endometriosis continues to be a leading cause of chronic pelvic pain and long-term morbidity in women of reproductive age.…
Key Points Lay SummaryPain catastrophizing, perceived injustice, and pain intensity impair life satisfaction
Cognitive appraisals have been shown to have an effect on the experience of pain. Notably, perceived injustice and pain catastrophizing have been shown to play a role, but are rarely examined together. In addition, variability in appraisal processes has been…
Key Points Lay SummaryOral Contraceptives and Low-Cost Progestins to Reduce Endometriosis-Associated Pain
Most women with endometriosis-associated pain did not feel the need to use expensive progestin or undergo surgery. Instead, they were satisfied with a low-cost progestin to treat their symptoms. This is according to a study published in the journal Fertility…
Key Points Lay SummaryPain cognition and pain intensity are negatively associated with health-related quality of life
Pain is a personal experience and is different for every individual. Catastrophizing, fear of pain, and hypervigilance to pain are important factors that contribute to pain perception. These factors are described as pain cognition and refer to the negative appraisal…
Key Points Lay Summary"New Pain Dairy" Could Help Better Evaluate the Impact of Endometriosis on Women’s Daily Lives
Researchers developed a new patient-reported endometriosis pain daily diary. The diary can help evaluate endometriosis-related pain and the impacts this can have on patients' lives as well as be used in clinical trials to assess patients’ response to treatment. “The…
Key Points Lay SummaryWhich Endometriosis Treatment is Better: NETA or Extended-cycle OC (Seasonique®)?
Scala et al. recently shared the findings of their patient preference prospective study in a journal article titled “Norethindrone acetate versus extended-cycle oral contraceptive (Seasonique®) in the treatment of endometriosis symptoms: A prospective open-label comparative study,” which was published in the…
Key Points Lay SummaryEndometriosis Impacts Many Aspects of a Woman’s Life
Endometriosis has a severe negative impact not only on the physical health of a woman but also on other aspects of her life including optimism and self-esteem. This is according to an Australian study published in the Journal Healthcare for…
Key Points Lay SummaryHow to Improve the Psycho-Social Well Being in Endometriosis Patients?
Endometriosis and its various symptoms can negatively impact an individual’s psycho-social wellbeing. Additionally, current endometriosis treatments do not adequately alleviate the symptoms and improve a patient’s health-related quality of life (HRQOL). In their article titled “The association between experiences with…
Key Points Lay SummaryLaparoscopic Bowel Resection Can Be Beneficial Rectosigmoid Endometriosis
Riiskjær et al. recently published a paper titled “Pelvic Pain and Quality of Life Before and After Laparoscopic Bowel Resection for Rectosigmoid Endometriosis: A Prospective, Observational Study” in Diseases of the Colon & Rectum. This paper focuses on the effects…
Key Points Lay SummaryCentralization of Pelvic Endometriosis Care
Dr. Patrick Chien, the Deputy Editor-in-Chief of BJOG, recently wrote an article titled “Pelvic endometriosis: will centralization of services improve patient care?” In this article, Dr. Chien formulated an opinion on the centralization of pelvic endometriosis care based on the…
Key Points Lay SummaryQuality of Life in Women with Endometriosis
Endometriosis is a chronic disease characterized by the presence of endometrial tissue outside the uterine cavity. Progression and spread of the disease to other structures may lead to symptoms such as pelvic pain, urinary, and GI dysfunction. Endometriosis has been…
Key Points Lay SummaryA New VAS-based Diagnostic Tool for Interpreting Pain
The visual analog scale (VAS) is a diagnostic tool used by health care providers to evaluate chronic pain in women with endometriosis. In their publication titled “Minimal clinically important difference for pain on the VAS scale and the relation to…
Key Points Lay SummaryPain Cognition Impacts Health Related Quality of Life in Women with Endometriosis
The cognition of pain is an important factor influencing health-related quality of life in women with endometriosis, suggests a study published in the scientific journal Fertility and Sterility. This finding is important because it can help doctors treat pain in…
Key Points Lay SummaryThe Symptomatic Impact of Endometriosis
Endometriosis is a painful illness that affects the lives of many women around the world. A recent article published in Journal of Psychosomatic Obstetrics & Gynecology titled “The burden of endometriosis symptoms on health-related quality of life in women in…
Key Points Lay SummaryThe Benefits of Primary Surgery
Ahmad, Hussin, and Ahmad recently conducted a cohort study, and they published the results within an article titled “An evaluation of the quality of life in women with endometriosis who underwent primary surgery: a 6-month follow-up in Sabah Women &…
Key Points Lay Summary