Marie Josiasen has studied the link between endometriosis and mental health problems
Image source: Aarhus University/AU Foto
And this is not only the case after the diagnosis has been made. The pattern is already apparent ten years before. That is the finding of a large new Danish registry-based study from Aarhus University, based on data from 136,842 women. The findings are published in the journal Human Reproduction.
“What surprised us was how clear and persistent the pattern was, and that the difference did not diminish over time. On the contrary. Women with endometriosis consistently redeemed more prescriptions for antidepressant medication than women without the disease throughout the entire period, from ten years before to ten years after diagnosis,” says Marie Josiasen, PhD student at the Department of Public Health and one of the researchers behind the study.
Specifically, women with endometriosis redeemed 29% more prescriptions for antidepressant medication and 16% more for anxiety medication in the years before diagnosis. After diagnosis, the difference rose to 40% and 46%.
The study does not provide an answer as to what causes the mental strain, but Marie Josiasen points to a couple of likely explanations: “It’s possible that prolonged pain, uncertainty about the cause of the symptoms, and frustration over not being able to live the life one wants may be among the reasons. For some women, fertility problems can also be a major psychological burden,” she says.