Having IBS Increases Endometriosis Risk in Women

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If you are female and have been diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) there is a higher likelihood that you will also be diagnosed with endometriosis than if you did not have IBS.

Endometriosis is a painful condition that affects women during their reproductive years and is caused by the growth of the tissue lining the uterus in other parts of the abdomen outside of the uterus, such as the ovaries. It is estimated to affect between 5% and 10% of all women.

Researchers at the University of Surrey in Guildford conducted a large case-controlled study to determine the link between IBS, endometriosis and pelvic inflammatory disease.

Dr. K. D. Ballard and her team identified designed the study around data from the UK’s General Practice Research Database for years 1992 – 2001. The team utilized records of 5,540 women between 15 & 55 who had been diagnosed with endometriosis and 21,329 controls without endometriosis.

The evaluation of the data centered on when the diagnosis of irritable bowel syndrome or pelvic inflammatory disease was made compared to the date of the diagnosis of endometriosis.

The team found that women with endometriosis were 3½ times more likely to have been diagnosed with IBS prior to the diagnosis of endometriosis compared to the control group. Further, those with endometriosis were 2.6 times more likely to be diagnosed with IBS after the diagnosis of endometriosis than the controls.

In addition, the team found that women with endometriosis were at significantly increased risk of having a diagnosis of pelvic inflammatory disease before (6.4 times) and after (4.0 times) the date on which endometriosis was diagnosed.

“Since pelvic inflammatory disease and irritable bowel syndrome are largely diagnosed and treated within primary care, a misdiagnosis of these conditions may be a key contributor to the delayed diagnosis of endometriosis, which is currently reported to be 9 years.” — Dr. K. D. Ballard

The team’s report also notes that nearly 10% of women who have endometriosis had been treated for irritable bowel syndrome before their endometriosis diagnosis.

Their findings were published in the October issue of BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology.

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