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. 2010 Jul 11:8:85.
doi: 10.1186/1477-7827-8-85.

Family incidence of endometriosis in first-, second-, and third-degree relatives: case-control study

Kazem Nouri  1 , Johannes Ott, Birgitt Krupitz, Johannes C Huber, Rene Wenzl
Affiliations

Family incidence of endometriosis in first-, second-, and third-degree relatives: case-control study

Kazem Nouri et al. Reprod Biol Endocrinol. .

Abstract

Background: Initial publications examining the hereditary aspects of endometriosis appeared in the early seventies and demonstrated an up to seven-fold risk for endometriosis in first-degree relatives of endometriosis patients. The aim was to evaluate the influence of hereditary aspects on the endometriosis risk in our patient collective.

Methods: In a retrospective cohort study we evaluated the incidence of endometriosis among first-, second-, and third-degree relatives of endometriosis patients and compare it with its incidence among first-, second-, and third-degree relatives of patients without endometriosis.

Result(s): Eighty patients in whom endometriosis had been confirmed laparoscopically and histologically by biopsy and 60 patients in whom no endometriosis had been found during laparoscopy were given a questionnaire about the presence of symptoms associated with endometriosis and its family incidence. Patients of both the endometriosis and the control group were 37.7 +/- 6.2 and 45.9 +/- 12.0 years of age at the time of the interview, respectively (p < 0.05). Information about the presence of endometriosis was more readily available for relatives of those in the endometriosis group than for those in the control group (325/749 [43.4%] vs. 239/425 [56.2%], p < 0.05). In 5/136 (3.7%) and 8/134 (6.0%) first-degree relatives of endometriosis patients and the control group, respectively, information about the presence of endometriosis was not available (p = 0.554). Endometriosis was found in 8/136 (5.9%) first-degree relatives of patients and in 4/134 (3.0%) first-degree relatives of controls in the real-case analysis (p = 0.248). When comparing endometriosis characteristics between endometriosis patients with and without a history of familial endometriosis, no significant differences were found.

Conclusion(s): There is a trend toward an increased familial incidence of endometriosis. In contrast to the literature, we found a less dramatic increase in familial risk for the development of endometriosis.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Family tree of patients with a familial incidence of endometriosis.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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