A Swiss study from 2018 highlighted that chronic fatigue is a common symptom of endometriosis and that there is a need to improve the quality of life of women suffering from the disease.
The disease is characterized by the presence outside the uterus of cells of uterine origin, which react to hormones during cycles menstrual. Sometimes it does not cause symptoms and does not require management. But in some women, it causes pain, chronic or acute, or even infertility.
For this study, researchers from the University Hospital of Zurich (Switzerland) followed 1,120 patients from the hospital and private clinics in Switzerland, Germany and Austria. Half of these women had endometriosis.
The women completed a questionnaire regarding several aspects of quality of life and endometriosis, including fatigue and insomnia. The scientists also collected information on the medical and family histories of the patients, their lifestyle and their psychological disorders.
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Recurrent fatigue in one in two patients
The results showed that 50.7% of women with endometriosis also suffered from recurrent fatigue, compared to only 22.4% of women who were not affected by this disease.
In addition, fatigue linked to endometriosis was also associated with 7 times more insomnia, 4 times more depression, 2 times more pain and almost 1.5 times more stress at work.
The association between endometriosis and fatigue remained significant even when researchers took into account other factors that could influence fatigue such as pain, insomnia, stress at work, depression, BMI and pregnancy.
“These results show that endometriosis has an effect on fatigue independent of other factors, which cannot be attributed to symptoms of the disease.“, commented the professor in charge of this study, Ms. Brigitte Leeners.
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An immune system reaction?
“Although we know that chronic fatigue is one of the most disabling symptoms of endometriosis, little is said about it and few studies have looked at it..”
The researchers explain that this disease can cause chronic fatigue due to damage to the endometrium, which leads to inflammation that activates the immune system. The proteins involved in this immune activation play a role in the onset of symptoms of fatigue.
The French Association for the fight against endometriosis believes that this unrecognized and misdiagnosed disease affects one in ten women of childbearing age.
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