Endometriosis, adenomyosis and related health problems among women in Norway

The prevalence of endometriosis and adenomyosis in the Norwegian population is unknown. The aim of this study was to report on diagnoses of endometriosis, adenomyosis and related health problems among women of reproductive age.

We extracted specialist healthcare records of endometriosis and adenomyosis from the Norwegian Patient Registry for women aged 15 to 49 registered in Norway's National Population Register, covering the period 1 January 2008 to 31 December 2021. For the same period, we collected records of dysmenorrhea, dyspareunia and menorrhagia from primary care (Norwegian Control and Payment of Health Reimbursements Database) and the specialist health service (Norwegian Patient Registry).

The study included 1,910,661 women aged 15 to 49 years. A total of 27,773 (1.5 %) of the women were registered with a diagnosis of endometriosis, 5432 (0.3 %) with adenomyosis and 3029 (0.2 %) with both conditions. The rate of endometriosis registrations increased from 222 per 100,000 in 2008 to 513 per 100,000 in 2021, while the rate of adenomyosis registrations rose from 25 to 72 per 100,000 in 2008 and 2021, respectively. The rate of presumed first-time registration of endometriosis increased from 85 per 100,000 in 2011 to 152 per 100,000 in 2021, while for adenomyosis the increase was from 17 to 42 per 100,000.

The rate of endometriosis and adenomyosis registrations in the specialist health service increased during the period 1 January 2008 to 31 December 2021. This may reflect an increase in awareness and the introduction of new diagnostic tools.