American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology
Volume 202, Issue 6 , Pages 534.e1-534.e6, June 2010

Early menstrual characteristics associated with subsequent diagnosis of endometriosis

Background material regarding the study in the article (but not this topic) was presented at the 10th World Congress on Endometriosis, Melbourne, Australia, March 11-14, 2008.

  • Susan A. Treloar, PhD

      Affiliations

    • Center for Military and Veterans' Health, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
    • Cancer and Population Studies Group, Queensland Institute of Medical Research, Brisbane, Australia
    • Corresponding Author InformationReprints: Susan A. Treloar, PhD, Center for Military and Veterans' Health, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072 Australia
    • ,
  • Tanya A. Bell, PhD

      Affiliations

    • Faculty of Sciences, Engineering and Health, Central Queensland University, Bundaberg, Australia
    • ,
  • Christina M. Nagle, PhD

      Affiliations

    • Cancer and Population Studies Group, Queensland Institute of Medical Research, Brisbane, Australia
    • ,
  • David M. Purdie, PhD

      Affiliations

    • Genentech Inc, South San Francisco, CA
    • ,
  • Adèle C. Green, MBBS, PhD

      Affiliations

    • Cancer and Population Studies Group, Queensland Institute of Medical Research, Brisbane, Australia

Received 7 April 2009; received in revised form 5 July 2009; accepted 16 October 2009. published online 21 December 2009.

Objective

The aim of this study was to investigate the association between early menstrual characteristics, before symptom onset, and later diagnosis of endometriosis.

Study Design

This was a case-control study of 268 Australian women with surgically confirmed moderate-to-severe endometriosis (cases) and 244 women without endometriosis (controls). Early menstrual cycle characteristics, before age at symptom onset, were analyzed.

Results

Menarche after age 14 years was strongly and inversely associated with endometriosis (odds ratio, 0.3; 95% confidence interval, 0.1–0.6). A history of dysmenorrhea was associated with subsequent endometriosis (odds ratio, 2.6; 95% confidence interval, 1.1–6.2). Despite a suggestive trend, shorter menstrual cycle length was not associated with endometriosis. Duration of natural menstruation and heaviness of flow were not associated with subsequent risk of endometriosis; neither was the reported type of sanitary protection used nor history of sexual intercourse during menstruation.

Conclusion

There is a decreased risk of endometriosis with late age at menarche and an increased risk in women who report an early history of dysmenorrhea.

Key words: dysmenorrhea, early menstrual characteristics, endometriosis, etiology, menstruation

To access this article, please choose from the options below

Login to an existing account or Register a new account.

  • Purchase this article for 30.00 USD (You must login/register to purchase this article)

    Online access for 24 hours. The PDF version can be downloaded as your permanent record.

  • Subscribe to this title

    Get unlimited online access to this article and all other articles in this title 24/7 for one year.

  • Claim access now

    For current subscribers with Society Membership or Account Number.

  • Visit SciVerse ScienceDirect to see if you have access via your institution.
 

 Dr Treloar was supported by the Cooperative Research Center for Discovery of Genes for Common Human Diseases and by NHMRC Grant 339430. Drs Bell and Nagle were funded by fellowships from the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia.

 Cite this article as: Treloar SA, Bell TA, Nagle CM, et al. Early menstrual characteristics associated with subsequent diagnosis of endometriosis. Am J Obstet Gynecol 2010;202:534.e1-6.

PII: S0002-9378(09)01980-2

doi:10.1016/j.ajog.2009.10.857

American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology
Volume 202, Issue 6 , Pages 534.e1-534.e6, June 2010

Article Tools