The Impact of Endometriosis Symptoms on Health Related Quality of Life and Work Productivity in Egypt

Abstract

ndometriosis is a chronic disease, which is underdiagnosed, under-reported, and under-researched. It is defined as the presence of endometrial tissue outside the uterus and is found in women of all ethnic and social groups. The prevalence has been reported around 10% of the general female population and up to 50% in women with pelvic pain or infertility. Endometriosis is often labeled ‘the missed disease’ and the average time between onset of pain and diagnosis is nearly 8 years in the United Kingdom, and 12 years in the United States of America. The primary symptoms of endometriosis are pain and infertility. Endometriosis can be associated with dysmenorrhea, dyspareunia, dysuria, chronic pelvic pain, abnormal bleeding. The prevalence of endometriosis increases dramatically to as high as 25%–50% in women with infertility and 30–50% of women with endometriosis have infertility. The severity of pain does not correspond with the number, location, or extent of endometriosis lesions. Some women with only a few small lesions experience severe pain; other women may have very large patches of endometriosis, but only experience little pain.