Endometriosis-associated infertility: a decade's trend study of women from the Estrie Region of Quebec, Canada

Abstract

Endometriosis (ENDO) has been believed to increase during the last years, but recent data supporting this trend are lacking. The aim of this study was to verify whether the incidence of ENDO, infertility (INF) and the both increased during the last 10 years among women living in the Estrie region of Quebec. This retrospective cross-sectional study was realised using data from the CIRESS (Centre Informatisé de Recherche Évaluative en Services et Soins de Santé) system, the database of the CHUS (Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Sherbrooke), Sherbrooke, Canada. Among the 6845 studied patients, 2564 had ENDO, 4537 were infertile and 256 suffered from both. According to the last 10 years, a significant increase in the number of cases with ENDO (r² = 0.717, p = 0.001) and endometriosis-associated infertility (r² = 0.601, p = 0.003) was noted, while INF remained stable (r² = 2813 e−005, p = 0.987). We showed a prevalence of ENDO of 10.91%. Women with ENDO were at increased risk for being infertile (OR = 2.30; 95% CI = 2.014–2.626, p <0.0001). An increase of ENDO in women 18–24 years of age has been shown (r² = 0.418, p = 0.023), suggesting an earlier onset of the disease.

Keywords:

• Endometriosis
• infertility
• endometriosis-associated infertility
• cohort study

Acknowledgements

We thank Amélie Jourdain (CIRESSS) and Nathalie Carrier for their assistance with data management and statistical analysis, respectively.