5 Surprising Things About Endometriosis

Even though endometriosis occurs in around 10 percent of those with a uterus, it’s still not well understood.¹

“Unfortunately, like many things in women’s health, it is under funded and under researched,” says Dr. Ken Sinervo, a gynecologist at the Center for Endometriosis Care in Atlanta.²

Compared to other areas of medicine, the amount of research that goes into endometriosis in general is pretty small, he told me. This means much about the disease — like what causes it — is still unknown. A friend in medical school admitted he hadn’t really learned anything about it, and then one of my general practitioners casually told me she didn’t know much about endometriosis.

My GP may not know what’s going on with endo, but I have a Google alert set up and I peruse PubMed — think Google for scientific studies — more than a few times a week.

Here are five surprising things I’ve learned about endometriosis in my research:

Some males have it

A 1985 study reported that an 83-year-old male had an endometrioma in his abdominal wall.³ In 2014, a case report detailed the occurrence of endometriosis in a 52-year-old male with abdominal pain who also had cirrhosis.⁴

It occurs in fetuses

Displaced endometrial tissue has been observed in female fetuses during postmortem autopsies.⁵ Finding endometriosis in fetuses — who definitely haven’t had a period — supports the theory that endo could form during embryonic development and not just during retrograde menstruation.

Citrus fruits help but broccoli hurts

According to a study released in early 2018, women who consumed citrus fruits were less likely to be diagnosed with endometriosis, but eating vegetables like broccoli and Brussels sprouts increased the chance for a diagnosis.⁶

Cruciferous vegetables are high in FODMAPS, a clunky anachronym referring to carbohydrates that ferment in the gut (the good-for-you kind that also cause gas and bloating). Gastrointestinal symptoms could be influencing pain and the diagnosis of endometriosis, said Holly Harris, an epidemiologist at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle who worked on the study.

Endo patients have more allergies and asthma

And finally, in a finding that is supported by my itchy eyes and sinus pressure, those with endo report a higher rate of autoimmune inflammatory diseases, allergies, and asthma.⁷