Atherosclerosis in women with endometriosis

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to determine whether women with endometriosis have greater subclinical atherosclerosis than the general population. STUDY DESIGN: This case-control study included 66 women with endometriosis and 66 controls matched for age and body mass index. All subjects were >or=35 years old. Exclusion criteria were obesity, diabetes, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, renal or metabolic diseases. Before laparoscopy, all patients underwent a measurement of intima-media thickness (IMT) and distensibility coefficient (DC) on the common carotid artery. In addition, blood samples were taken to determine the levels of lipids, fibrinogen, C-reactive protein, homocysteine, fasting glycemia, antithrombin III, plasminogen, protein C, protein S, and activated protein C resistance. RESULTS: All the biochemical parameters evaluated had similar levels in the two study groups. IMT was similar in women with endometriosis and in controls both on left (p=0.330) and right (p=0.648) carotid artery. Similarly, no significant difference was observed in the DC between women with endometriosis and controls both on left (p=0.539) and right (p=0.178) carotid artery. No significant difference was observed in IMT and DC between women with mild and severe endometriosis. CONCLUSION: Women with endometriosis do not have more subclinical atherosclerosis than the general population.