The Impact of Surgically Diagnosed Symptomatic Endometriosis on Women’s Social Lives

Abstract

Endometriosis is a women’s health condition affecting 1 in 10 women of reproductive age and is associated with negative physical and psychological symptoms. Endometriosis occurs where presence of endometrial-like tissue is located in places outside of the uterus, causing an inflammatory response. This study utilised a concurrent mixed method approach to address two research aims. The first aim was to investigate the impact of surgically diagnosed symptomatic endometriosis on women’s social lives, specifically, family and friend relationships, work, education, attendance at social events, leisure activities and general household tasks. The second aim intended to compare clinical characteristics of the study population to normative adult populations. Participants (18-55 years; N = 970) completed an online survey containing demographic and open-ended questions and three short-form measures; the Depression, Anxiety, Stress Scale (DASS-21), Short-Form Endometriosis Health Profile (EHP-5) and World Health Organisation Quality of Life Scale (WHOQoL-BREF). Qualitative analysis detected negative impacts on women’s social lives with few positive impacts. Quantitative analyses established a significant result (p=<0.01) in all subscale mean scores excluding two EHP-5 subscales, indicating that the study population is significantly different to normative adult populations demonstrating higher levels of psychological distress, lower health status and reduced quality of life.