Early life trauma and endometriosis: A case-control study on type and timing of adverse experiences

Endometriosis is a common chronic inflammatory gynaecological condition characterised by the abnormal presence of endometrial tissue outside the uterus. Different risk factors for endometriosis have been proposed, with some research finding a significant relationship between endometriosis and early life trauma. This study aimed to determine the prevalence, age, and type of early life trauma in a clinical sample of women with existing diagnosis of endometriosis compared with the prevalence in the general Australian female population.

Participants were recruited from the Multidisciplinary Alfred Psychiatry research centre Women's Mental Health Clinic (WMHC). Women who self-reported a diagnosis of endometriosis were identified from the WMHC patient database, established in 2017. In patients who reported a presence of early life trauma, information regarding the type and age of the early traumatic experience(s) was recorded. The prevalence of each type of trauma in our participants was compared to the general female population in Australia.

Of 68 included participants, the mean (SD) age was 41.6 (9.7) years. 86.8% of participants (n = 59) reported experience of any early life trauma, most commonly occurring between ages 6-10 (89.8%). The most reported type of trauma was emotional abuse (76.5%). Compared to the general female population, the prevalence of emotional abuse (76.5% vs. 37.3%), neglect (35.3% vs. 10.8%), and sexual abuse (39.7% vs. 37.3%) were higher in our sample.

The findings of this study found high prevalence rates of early life trauma, in particular emotional abuse and neglect, in our clinical sample of women with endometriosis.