Background: Advances in understanding the epidemiology of endometriosis have lagged behind other diseases because of methodological problems related to disease definition and control selection.
Aim: To identify possible risk factors associated with the development of endometriosis among a sample of Egyptian women.
Materials and methods: A case-control study was conducted in the University Maternity Hospital and some private hospitals in Alexandria. The sample included 110 cases recently diagnosed with endometriosis and 220 hospital-based, age-matched controls.
Results: Using the logistic regression analysis, nulligravidae were four times more likely to develop endometriosis than gravid women [adjusted odds ratio (AOR)=4.0, 95% confidence interval (CI) (2.2-7.6)]. Short cycles were associated with approximately six times increase in risk of endometriosis [AOR=6.1, 95% CI (2.9-12.8)]. Women with irregular cycles were three times more likely to develop endometriosis than women with regular cycles [AOR=3.5, 95% CI (1.89-6.71)]. Similarly, women with a history of irritable bowel syndrome were twice as likely to develop endometriosis [AOR=1.9, 95% CI (1.03-3.87)]. Women who had one or more relatives with endometriosis were 1.2 times more likely to develop endometriosis [AOR=1.2, 95% CI (1.19-1.43)].
Conclusion and recommendations: Nulliparous and women reporting short and irregular cycles were at a significantly increased risk of developing endometriosis. A weak association between reported family history of endometriosis and history of irritable bowel syndrome and the development of endometriosis was also observed. Designing and implementing health education programs about endometriosis and its related risk factors should be a priority to ensure early diagnosis of the disease.