About one in every 10 women will experience a painful condition called endometriosis during their reproductive years. It happens when tissue similar to the uterus lining grows outside of the uterus.
Researchers don’t know exactly what causes the condition, but a new study is shedding light.
“Since it’s not supposed to be there, it creates a lot of inflammation, and inflammation ultimately leads to pain and scar the tissue,” said Dr. Latasha Murphy, a Gynecological Surgeon at Mercy Medical Center in Baltimore, Maryland.
And that pain can be extreme.
“I would say cycle pain times a hundred. I mean it is extremely unbearable, the type of pain people with endometriosis endure,” Murphy said.
While scientists don’t know exactly what causes endometriosis, a recent study offers new clues. Researchers found that 64% of patients with endometriosis also tested positive for a common bacteria called fusobacterium, which typically lives in the mouth and gastro tract.
Less than 10% of the participants without endometriosis tested positive for it.
Some other risk factors for endometriosis are: having a family history of the disease, being diagnosed with an immune system problem, having too much of the hormone estrogen, and undergoing abdominal surgery, such as a c-section. Retrograde menstrual flow is another likely cause.
“Some of that tissue flows out of the fallopian tubes into the pelvis,” Murphy said.
Some factors that lower your risk of endometriosis include: being pregnant, breastfeeding, having your first period after age 14, and eating fruits, particularly citrus fruits.