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Childhood Abuse can Lead to High Risk of Uterus Problem

by Iswarya on Jul 18 2018 10:30 AM

Adults who were sexually and physically abused during their childhood and adolescence have a higher risk of endometriosis (tissues growing outside the uterus), says Epidemiologist from Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.

Childhood Abuse can Lead to High Risk of Uterus Problem
The risk of endometriosis (tissues growing outside the uterus) is high in adults who were abused sexually and physically during their childhood and adolescence, reports a new study. The findings of the study are published in the journal Human Reproduction.//
"Both physical and sexual abuse were associated with endometriosis risk, with abuse severity, chronicity, and accumulation of types of abuse each associated with increased risk in a dose-response manner," said Dr. Holly R. Harris, assistant member of Epidemiology in Fred Hutch's Public Health Sciences Division.

Abuse has been associated with chronic pelvic pain, uterine fibroids, and hypertension in previous studies, but this report - which used data collected from 60,595 women within the Nurses' Health Study II from 1989 to 2013 - is the first to show an association between childhood abuse and laparoscopically-confirmed endometriosis. Study highlights include:
  • More than 3,000 cases of laparoscopically-confirmed endometriosis were diagnosed during 24 years of follow-up.
  • 21 percent of all women reported having experienced some level of both child/adolescent physical and sexual abuse.
  • 32 percent reported child/adolescent physical abuse only.
  • 12 percent reported child/adolescent sexual abuse only.
  • Compared to those reporting no physical or sexual abuse, the risk of endometriosis was greater among those who experienced severe physical abuse or severe sexual abuse.
  • There was a 79 percent higher risk of laparoscopically-confirmed endometriosis for women reporting severe-chronic abuse of multiple types.
  • There was a stronger association between early life abuse and pain-associated endometriosis (versus endometriosis diagnosed in the absence of pain).
"A growing body of literature suggests that early traumatic experiences affect the production of stress hormones and inflammatory responses, and these contribute to chronic pelvic pain and other pain syndromes. Our findings suggest that similar mechanisms may be involved in the association between early abuse and endometriosis diagnosed during adulthood. We need an increased focus on the potential underlying biological mechanisms to understand these relationships fully," Harris said. "This study adds to the growing evidence that abuse during childhood/adolescence is not rare and can have multiple consequences for lifelong health and wellbeing."

The study population was primarily white female nurses between the ages of 25 to 42 at baseline who were participants in the Nurses' Health Study II, which began in 1989 with 116,429 women. Participants receive follow-up questionnaires every two years.



Source-Eurekalert


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