Childhood trauma is a cause of endometriosis

Women suffering from life-debilitating endometriosis have been poorly served by medicine.  It doesn’t know what causes the condition—beyond a possible genetic link—or how to treat it.

So, there’s hope this week for sufferers—but the remedy won’t be found with a doctor, but from a psychotherapist, according to a new study.

No, the recommendation isn’t playing into the narrative expounded by some knuckle-dragging doctors that endometriosis is ‘all in the head’.  Instead, its roots lie in childhood trauma, such as violence or sexual assault.

Women who suffered significant trauma as a child are far more likely to suffer from endometriosis, say researchers from Yale School of Medicine, who analysed data on 8,276 women with endometriosis, and compared their health profile, including incidents of childhood trauma, to more than 240,000 controls.

Overall, childhood trauma—and especially contact trauma, such as hitting or sexual assault—increased the risk of endometriosis by around 28 percent, the researchers found.  The risk increased with every different type of trauma the woman experienced as a child, suggesting a cumulative effect.

The trauma survivors were also more likely to suffer from mental health issues, such as depression and anxiety.  They were also more presupposed to PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder)—and this profile may have caused doctors to misdiagnose it as being imagined or ‘all in the head’.

With 15 percent of women suffering from endometriosis—a condition where tissue similar to the uterine lining grows outside the uterus, causing immense pain and fertility problems—the possibly that trauma is the root cause opens up new ways to treat it.

What do you think? Start a conversation over on the... WDDTY Community