Nutrition Care for Endometriosis: Considerations for Practice Guidelines

Registered dietitians (RDs) are regulated health professionals with an expertise in food and nutrition, operating within interdisciplinary teams to translate complex nutrition science into specific recommendations that benefit the health and nutritional well-being of individuals and communities. While not conventionally considered an important element of care in gynecology and reproductive health care, RDs play a unique role in the assessment and management of patients with endometriosis, a condition that impacts not only reproductive function but also digestive health, disordered eating and eating disorder (ED) occurrence, malnutrition risk, and overall quality of life. At this time, limited high-quality research exists examining the efficacy of dietary interventions in patients with endometriosis, posing a barrier to formulating recommendations in clinical practice guidelines (CPGs). This review document offers areas of consideration in the development of nutrition CPGs for endometriosis care, including relevant nutrition assessment methods for dietitians, screening practices for disordered eating and EDs, existing nutrition intervention data, and the need for validated outcome measures for nutrition care in endometriosis.