Volume 28, Issue 154, December 2024

The impact of endometriosis on women's mental health and quality of life – review

Paweł Nowocin^1♦, Zuzanna Kudas¹, Martyna Koszyk², Aleksandra Litwin¹, Karolina Krzywicka³, Dawid Wiktor Kulczyński¹, Natalia Dąbrowska⁴, Paulina Kumięga¹, Nikola Perchel¹, Piotr Wasiński⁵

¹Medical University of Warsaw, Żwirki i Wigury 61, 02-091 Warszawa, Poland
²Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University in Warsaw, Dewajtis 5, 01-815 Warsaw, Poland
³SPKSO Ophthalmic University, Hospital in Warsaw, Józefa Sierakowskiego 13, 03-709 Warszawa, Poland
⁴Military Institute of Medicine –National Research Institute, ul. Szaserów 128, 04-141 Warszawa, Poland
⁵Provincial Hospital in Kielce, Grunwaldzka 45, 25-736 Kielce, Poland

^♦Corresponding Author
Medical University of Warsaw, Żwirki i Wigury 61, 02-091 Warszawa, Poland

ABSTRACT

Endometriosis is a chronic medical condition where tissue resembling the uterine lining grows outside the uterus, impacting pelvic organs. This ectopic tissue growth results in a variety of symptoms ranging from chronic pain to dysmenorrhea and dyspareunia, predicaments that have a profound impact on daily life quality, leading to an important impairment of its quality (QoL). The condition impacts women in their full-fertile years, occurring in 10% of the population and up to 50% of infertile women—highlighting it as a significant issue for reproductive health and mental well-being. In this review, we examine the impact that endometriosis has on rates of depression, anxiety, and social withdrawal and how emotional stress is further exacerbated by diagnostic delays. This can also create relational distress as the condition often affects sexual health and interpersonal relationships. Good care does not just provide physical management but also psychological and mental health support. Given this, social support and the adoption of adaptive coping strategies among women with endometriosis can help them cope effectively with their disease, increase their emotional resilience, and abandon the use of mental health services. As a result, comprehensive care models that integrate physical health, mental health, and social support may be crucial to improving the QoL of endometriosis-affected women.

Keywords: Endometriosis, Mental health, Quality of life, Depression, Anxiety

Medical Science, 2024, 28, e160ms3483

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.54905/disssi.v28i154.e160ms3483

Published: 30 December 2024