Undiagnosed endometriosis compromises fertility treatment

Date:
October 5, 2021
Source:
University of Queensland
Summary:
Women with undiagnosed endometriosis will have difficulty falling
pregnant without IVF, according to a new study.



FULL STORY ========================================================================== Women with undiagnosed endometriosis will have difficulty falling pregnant without IVF, according to a University of Queensland study.


==========================================================================
UQ School of Public Health researcher, Dr Katrina Moss, said women whose endometriosis went undiagnosed until after they began fertility treatment
ended up doing more cycles, used treatments that aren't recommended,
and were less likely to have a baby.

"By contrast, our study found women who were diagnosed with endometriosis before fertility treatment experienced the same outcomes as those without
the condition," Dr Moss said.

In Australia, 1 in 9 women are diagnosed with endometriosis and 40 per
cent of these experience infertility.

Dr Moss said Australian women can wait between 4 and 11 years before
being diagnosed with endometriosis, and delayed diagnosis reduced the
chances of fertility treatments being successful.

"In our national study of 1322 women, 35 per cent of participants had endometriosis and one-third of those weren't diagnosed until after they
started their fertility treatment," Dr Moss said.



========================================================================== "Women who were diagnosed late were 4 times more likely to do a lot of
cycles, sometime up to 36 cycles of fertility treatment," she said.

"They were also 33 per cent less likely to report a birth." Fertility specialist and UQ Centre for Clinical Research Professor Hayden Homer
said early diagnosis of endometriosis and early access to IVF created
a level playing field, as the same outcomes were recorded for women who
did not have the condition.

"It is highly advantageous to diagnose endometriosis before starting
fertility treatment and to adjust the treatment accordingly," Professor
Homer said.

"Otherwise, women are less likely to have a child and face a higher
financial and psychological treatment burden.

"It is critical to remain highly vigilant about the possibility of endometriosis amongst women who are thinking about fertility treatment, especially in the presence of severe pelvic pain." This study used data
from the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health (ALSWH).

========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by University_of_Queensland. Note:
Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. K M Moss, J Doust, H Homer, I J Rowlands, R Hockey, G D
Mishra. Delayed
diagnosis of endometriosis disadvantages women in ART: a
retrospective population linked data study. Human Reproduction,
2021 DOI: 10.1093/ humrep/deab216 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/10/211005175354.htm

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