The quality of life and mental health in endometriosis patients

Patients with endometriosis suffer from an alteration of mental health status as well as a lower quality of life.

Key Points

Highlight

• Most endometriosis patients suffer from the psychological effects of the disease symptoms, therefore it is important to have a multidisciplinary approach when managing.

Importance

• The preservation of a good quality of life and mental health status is crucial for patients with endometriosis.
• Symptoms such as pain and infertility contribute to the decrease in the quality of life and mental health, and vice versa.

What's done here

• This is a cross-sectional and observational study of 79 women with endometriosis.
• The aim was to evaluate the health-related quality of life and mental health status of the patients along with their relation to pain and infertility.
• Three different questionnaires were used to assess these properties (EHP-5, DASS-21, VAS) and the results were statistically analyzed.

Key results

• More than half of the patients did not have depression, while 44% had depressive symptoms in varying degrees.
• The stress rate was found to be lower than depression, and anxiety was the least of all with one-fourth.
• The quality of life and depression was moderately correlated to pain.
• The pain was also correlated with worse mental health status, worse mental health status caused more anxiety and infertility.
• Depression and infertility were moderately correlated.

Lay Summary

One of the most important aspects of having a chronic illness comes with its relative effect on the patients’ quality of life and mental health status. Being among the most debilitating diseases in women in the reproductive period, endometriosis is known to alter the quality of life with its clinical symptoms such as pain and infertility. Studies have shown that women with endometriosis display a lower health-related quality of life, and a higher incidence of depression and anxiety. The relationship between pain perception and mental health status has also been a popular subject regarding endometriosis patients.

An observational cross-sectional study was performed by Skegro et al. from Zagreb, Croatia aiming to evaluate the health-related quality of life and mental health status of endometriosis patients and their relation to comorbid symptoms of the disease. The article was published in a recent issue of the journal Psychiatria Danubina. 

A total of 79 women with a mean age of 35, previously diagnosed with endometriosis were included in the study. Three types of questionnaires were applied: The Endometriosis Health Profile (EHP-5) for the assessment of the health-related quality of life, Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS-21) for the presence and intensity of depression, anxiety, and stress, and a Visual Analogue Scale for the measurement of pain intensity.

While more than half of the patients did not show any symptoms of depression, 44% had depressive status. The anxiety was seen in one-forth, and one-third of patients were affected by stress. A moderate correlation was found between pain and quality of life and depression. The pain was in correlation with worse mental health status, however, there was a weak correlation between pain and stress. The patients with worse mental health status showed more anxiety symptoms and more infertility. Depression and infertility were also moderately correlated.

The authors conclude by saying that as all these spectra of symptoms regarding mental health and quality of life occur simultaneously, it is very important to have a multidisciplinary approach in treating endometriosis patients. Moreover, screening for psychiatric comorbidities should not be overlooked and a personalized treatment approach should be set for each patient.

Research Source: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34718292/