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Endometriosis remains to be a serious health problem for women because of the knowledge gap

Key Points

Highlight:

• Endometriosis remains to be a serious health problem for women all over the world and is still not understood well by many.

Importance:

• Being aware of endometriosis is a crucial step for physicians to help the patients with the huge burden they have because of the disease.
• With more financial support from medical authorities, it is possible to overcome the disease and help patients maintain a better quality of life.

What is done here:

• This is a perspective article that discusses the current interest and knowledge in endometriosis.

Key results:

• Chronic pelvic pain creates a burden that results in increased chronic stress, anxiety, depression, and a decreased quality of life.
• The reason for the significant delay in the diagnosis is partly the knowledge gap about endometriosis and its symptoms.
• The delay in diagnosis may cause peripheral and central sensitization and increase the severity of pain.
• Endometriosis also increases the risk of ovarian cancer.
• The patients suffer from high infertility rates.
• There is a serious lack of funding for endometriosis research.
• The economic burden that the patients face is prominent.
• Because of the lack of funding, effective treatment methods are very limited.

Lay Summary

It has been a long time since endometriosis was defined. Extensive population studies have shown that around 10% of women suffer from this condition. Depending on its severity, it alters the various functions of the body and causes the patients to suffer.

A perspective article by Ellis et al. attracts attention to the current knowledge and actions on endometriosis and was published in the May 2022 issue of the journal Frontiers in Global Women’s Health.

The authors first detail the burden that different symptoms bring on the patients. As a major and one of the most common symptoms, chronic pelvic pain creates a substantial burden that results in increased chronic stress, anxiety, depression, and a decreased quality of life. There is a significant delay in the diagnosis of the disease, and research shows this is partly because not enough physicians have adequate knowledge of endometriosis and its symptoms. The delay in diagnosis may cause peripheral and central sensitization which only increases the severity of pain that the patients feel. Endometriosis also increases the risk of ovarian cancer and the patients suffer from high infertility rates.

Secondly, the authors declare that they think endometriosis is highly undervalued and ignored as a female health topic. There is a serious lack of funding for endometriosis research and it is very important to take action to improve the understanding of the disease and remove knowledge gaps.

The economic burden that the patients face is prominent. Apart from the fact that they have to spend money on health care, they also suffer from a decrease in income because of the lost workdays. The authors also touch on the issue that because of the lack of funding, effective treatment methods are very limited. Despite the disadvantages caused by the lack of funding for research, there are many research studies being published and they promise good results in different subjects on endometriosis such as finding a non-invasive diagnostic biomarker, using nanoparticles, and the evolving knowledge on microbiota in the treatment of the disease.

The authors discuss that there are critical gaps in the understanding of this important disease. Investments should be made to translate research findings into everyday practice. They conclude by adding that it is not impossible to overcome this disease if enough funding is received and new methods are used.

Research Source: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35620300/