Prognosis
Endometriosis-associated pain can be managed by medical and surgical means, with a varying degree of recurrence and progression.
Delays in diagnosis are common and result in untreated pain. Data from the Endometriosis Association revealed a mean of 10 years from onset of symptoms to therapeutic intervention.[125] Woman and physician awareness can improve this deficiency in care, especially for younger groups of women who are more prone to such delays.
Treatment failures are likely to occur when other causes of pain are not appropriately addressed (e.g., pelvic floor tension myalgia). Women may undergo repeated surgical procedures, which not only increase the risk of peri-operative complications, but have no lasting effect on pain relief.
Long-term studies are difficult and expensive to maintain. In the absence of such data, it is difficult to provide generalised prognoses. Younger women and those with severe disease, however, are more likely to experience recurrent symptoms.
Studies from 2020 and 2016 have also postulated a link between endometriosis and later development of cardiovascular disease.[126][127] However, this may be associated with ovarian suppression, earlier surgical menopause, or other confounders in women with endometriosis, and thus more research is required in this area.
Endometriosis and sub-fertility
The prognosis for sub-fertile women with endometriosis varies and is dependent on multiple factors such as age, anovulation, tubal function, and male factor. National US data are available regarding success of IVF by diagnosis. Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology Opens in new window One population-based study from the UK of almost 15,000 women, followed for more than 30 years, compared women with surgically documented endometriosis with those with no known disease. Investigators found a statistically significant relationship with a positive history and first and third trimester obstetrical complications.[128]
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