标签： Endometriosis

Pesticides may increase risk of endometriosis

Last modified: 5 12 月, 2017

Pesticides may increase the risk of endometriosis research study warns. Study findings warn about the environmental effects on the health of women of reproductive age.

Research conducted at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center revealed that two organochlorine pesticides are linked to endometriosis in women of reproductive age. Researchers collected data from two study groups: a group of 248 women diagnosed with endometriosis, and a second control group of 538 healthy women. All women were of reproductive age among 18 and 40 year old.

The study found that women who were exposed at greater level at such pesticides (beta-hexachlorocyclohexane, mirex) were 30-70% more likely to suffer from endometriosis. These results, suggesting that pesticides may increase risk of endometriosis, were published in Environmental Health Perspectives, a journal of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.

pesticides endometriosis

Environmental chemicals used in the past could impact the reproductive health of future generations

The PhD scientist who led the study, Victoria Holt, originally thought of investigating pesticides effects on female reproductive health as it has been previously shown that organochlorine pesticides can have estrogenic properties, mimicking the effects of estrogens (reproductive hormones). It is also known that endometriosis is an estrogen dependent disease so it would make sense if such chemicals negatively affect the female reproductive system is some way.

Endometriosis is the pathogenic condition where the womb tissue lining grows outside of the womb and attaches to other organs. It is a painful, chronic condition and because of that thousands of women visit fertility clinics for treatments.

Nowadays, it is estimated that the number of women diagnosed with the disease has greatly increased since 1940 with millions of women over the globe affected, making them struggle with infertility problems as well.

Since endometriosis is the effect of hormonal imbalances it is quite possible that pesticides do exactly that. In animal studies, organochlorine pesticides have been found to alter the uterus and ovaries function as well as causing hormonal imbalances.

According to lead author of the study, Kristen Upson, the surprising fact about the results is that these pesticides were detected in the blood of the women, increasing the risk of endometriosis, while being banned in the U.S. “the message here is that environmental chemicals used in the past could  impact the reproductive health of future generations” she commented.

Are you aware of ways to avoid pesticides in your diet and protect your fertility?

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Endometriosis as a cause of infertility

Last modified: 4 12 月, 2021

Endometriosis is a common pathogenic condition of women that, in the past, it has been associated with infertility. But is endometriosis a cause of infertility? Quite often women diagnosed with infertility happen to be diagnosed endometriosis with as well. Scientists ponder however whether there is indeed a link between the disease and infertility or endometriosis is a coincidental discovery made during the examination for infertility.

woman-endometriosis

Endometriosis is a painful, chronic condition.

Endometriosis is the pathogenic condition where the womb tissue lining grows outside of the womb and attaches to other organs. It is a painful, chronic condition and because of that thousands of women visit fertility clinics for treatments. Nowadays, it is estimated that the number of women diagnosed with the disease has greatly increased since 1940 with millions of women affected worldwide. A higher prevalence of the disease is found among women with infertility.

But, endometriosis, is it a cause of infertility itself? According to a new study, the answer tends to be negative. As the main author of the study, Stacey Missmer – director of Epidemiologic Research in Reproductive Medicine at Brigham and Women’s hospital, reported most of women diagnosed with endometriosis do not have fertility problems and they are able to achieve pregnancy. She added however that women with the disease have increased chances for suffering from infertility compared to healthy women.

For the study, published in Human Reproduction, the researchers analyzed data from 58,427 women in order to establish the association of endometriosis with infertility incidents. One of the study findings was that only women aged <35 with endometriosis are at a greater risk of infertility.

Surprisingly, it was found that previous estimates of infertility incidents in women with endometriosis were overestimated in terms of numbers probably due to studies’ artifacts. More specifically, researchers reported that the infertility risk linked to endometriosis is approximately 50% lower compared to other studies’ results.

The major need now for fertility specialists is to further investigate this relationship between the disease and infertility and to become able to identify the specific group of women with endometriosis who are in greater risk for infertility in order to be treated properly and in time.

If you’re facing infertility,have you been tested for endometriosis?

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IVF Is Not Always Your Best Option

Last modified: 4 12 月, 2021
IVF Is Not Always Your Best Option

IVF is not always the best option for infertility treatment and it is highly recommended for patients to go through a thorough investigation in order to have a clear idea about why they need IVF.

Professor Robert Winston, one of the founding fathers of IVF, has recently published his new book, The Essential Fertility Guide, in which he outlines

fertility treatment options suggesting that IVF is not always your best option for infertility treatment.

For many people, there is no other experience that matches the birth of a baby. One in every seven couples in the UK struggle with infertility. There are various reasons for this and a number of treatments available for optimizing their chances of having a baby.

However, there is also a lot of misinformation out there about infertility treatment, so experts say people should be careful about which advice they heed.  Especially in the private sector where expensive IVF, which only has a 25 percent success rate, is a highly profitable industry.  The fact that a large number of patients address to private clinics for solving their infertility problems could perhaps explain why many people assume the best option for overcoming infertility is IVF (in vitro fertilisation), which according to Professor Winston is often not the case.

When patients meet with their doctor they are often surprised to learn that IVF may not be their first treatment option for infertility. In reality, IVF technique is used far too often before other, usually cheaper and less stressful options, are fully explored. For that reason, it is highly recommended for patients to go through a thorough investigation in order to find out the exact cause of their infertility and have a clear idea about why they need IVF. Prof. Winston adds that most of the infertile couples do not require such a complex treatment and often expectant treatment, ie. waiting to get pregnant, is likely to be more effective than IVF.

It is advisable for infertile patients to start with low tech treatments. Starting with the simplest, most affordable treatment options first and move up to more advanced treatments as medically indicated, is the best way to deal with it.”There are numerous causes of infertility,” says Prof. Winston, “and the best treatment may be different in each circumstance.

Intrauterine insemination (IUI) is an example of a low tech treatment frequently requiring less medication and fewer monitoring appointments with a lower cost. Depending on the cause, other alternatives to IVF could be drug treatments to encourage ovulation, laparoscopic (minimally invasive) surgery or treatment for endometriosis.

Have you asked the right questions to your doctor?

Make sure you are properly tested to identify the cause of infertility and choose the best treatment option for you.

Hey! If you found this post interesting or useful, you can help us get even better by subscribing to our newsletter. Just write your email and you’ll have the latest news regarding fertility issues. Thank you once more for your help.