A study found that women with endometriosis face higher risk of early and menopause and experienced seven times more surgical menopause.

Surgical menopause occurs when women remove both ovaries before reaching natural menopause, and endometriosis can be treated if other therapies fail.

Endometriosis affects one in ten women of reproductive age and occurs when cells similar to the lining of the uterus grow in other parts of the body, causing severe pain, infertility and heavy periods. Endometriosis also affects the uterus and other people in a few men.

Although endometriosis and its treatment can reduce the quality and quantity of female eggs, research on its effects on menopause time has been limited.

The study found that women with endometriosis and natural menopause 19 months ago published the journal Human Reproduction on average 19 months ago.

Led by Dr. Hsin-fang Chung of the University of Queensland, the study also found that women with endometriosis were 40 and 1.4 times more likely to have early surgical menopause in the same age as 40 and 1.4 times more likely to have early surgical menopause.

The study analyzed data from 279,048 women, of which 10,367 (3.7%) reported endometriosis in five cohort studies conducted between 1996 and 2022 in the UK, Australia, Sweden and Japan. All studies are part of the International Alliance for Women’s Health Research.

The authors noted that among the participants, they were unable to distinguish between subtypes and the stages of endometriosis, or to determine whether women had undergone surgical resection or ablation to remove endometriomas—a cyst that could affect the number of eggs.

Women with hysterectomy with ovarian function were excluded in the analysis, so hysterectomy could not explain the early natural menopause in the study.

The study found that current management guidelines for endometriosis focus mainly on pain, infertility and treatment. Menopause is mentioned only in the context of treating endometriosis in postmenopausal women.

Chung said she hopes the evidence will improve endometriosis management guidelines, including preventive and early or medically induced menopause strategies, which are related to adverse outcomes including osteoporosis and cardiovascular disease.

"Women with endometriosis should be aware that they may be at risk of early or induced menopause," Chung said. These women should visit their GP regularly to check for chronic disease risk factors and prevention strategies.

Dr. Gino Pecoraro, president of the National Association of Professional Obstetricians and Gynecologists and Gynecologists, said he was not surprised by the result.

"I hope they can prove exactly that surgical menopause rates are even higher for patients with severe endometriosis," Pecoraro said. "This is a hormonal responsive condition. This leads to painful and heavy, painful periods." Pecoraro was not involved in the study.

In a large part of the situation, endometriomas or "chocolate cysts" and the process of removing them often lead to early natural menopause, he said.

Pecoraro said that if gynecologists remove the ovaries in the ovaries of a young woman, they should follow up on her menopause symptoms such as craze, vaginal dryness and irritability. This includes monitoring the woman's bones and ensuring her lipids (organic compounds) are elevated.

He said a variety of modern therapies for menopause symptoms do not increase endometriosis and are non-hormonal and can also provide fertility-retaining surgery.

Even in symptomatic medications, women who experience menopause transition should see a doctor at least every to two years, Pecoraro said.