Wellness
Evidence shows link between endometriosis and physical traumatic experiences
An international study has found new evidence linking traumatic experiences and stressful events with endometriosis – revealing that the condition appears to be closely linked to trauma involving contact, such as in physical abuse or sexual assault.
Through genetic analysis, the researchers found that this relationship seems to be independent of genetic predisposition to endometriosis. The findings could be helpful to take into account when diagnosing endometriosis, which affects 190 million women of reproductive age worldwide.
Dora Koller, first author of the article and researcher at the Department of Genetics, Microbiology and Statistics of the UB’s Faculty of Biology, notes that: “While psychological trauma has been associated with endometriosis, to date, there has been little information on the role of the type of trauma and genetic predisposition.
“These results challenge established paradigms by uncovering shared genetic mechanisms linking endometriosis with post-traumatic stress disorder and other types of trauma, while providing new insights into how different types of traumatic events are associated with the disease.”
The study was based on observational and genetic data analyses from 8,276 women with endometriosis and 240,117 controls in the UK Biobank, a biomedical database containing anonymised genetic, lifestyle and health information, as well as biological samples from people in the United Kingdom.
“Our study shows that people with endometriosis were more likely to report having experienced certain traumatic events compared to healthy people,” said Koller.
For example, people with endometriosis were 17 per cent more likely to have witnessed a sudden death, 16 per cent more likely to have experienced sexual assault in adulthood and 36 per cent more likely to have received a life-threatening diagnosis.
To explore the connection between different types of trauma, the researchers conducted a latent class analysis, a research tool that unravels hidden clusters in a dataset.
“More cases of endometriosis could be linked to emotional, physical and sexual trauma,” said Koller.
Post-traumatic stress disorder and child abuse
The genetic analyses in the study consisted mainly of a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of endometriosis and also an analysis of the interaction between traumatic events and the polygenic risk of endometriosis, an approach that assesses the combined impact of multiple genetic variants on the development of a disease, rather than focusing on a single gene.
The results of these analyses have revealed that the disease correlates genetically with several trauma-related conditions, with the strongest evidence being linked to post-traumatic stress disorder and child abuse.
Koller said: “Childhood trauma, for example, feeling hated by a family member as a child and being physically abused by the family, was also linked to endometriosis, highlighting the potential role of early adverse experiences in shaping the risk and progression of endometriosis.”
Other genetically inferred relationships included situations related to having someone who could take study participants to the doctor during childhood.
According to the researcher, this would be “especially important” in the case of endometriosis, since having caregivers who ensure access to medical care during this stage of life may influence stress resilience and care-seeking behaviour, reducing the likelihood of under-diagnosis and under-treatment.
“People who lack caregiver support may be less likely to defend their health,” Koller said.
Mechanisms which do not depend on the genetic predisposition
The results also show that the relationship between the genetic risk of endometriosis and trauma does not seem to be due to a direct interaction between genes and environment, but would be explained by correlations between genes and environment.
That is, for example, people with a certain genetic predisposition may be more likely to experience or remember certain traumatic events, which could influence their risk of developing endometriosis.
“Based on the reclassification proposed by Hugh Taylor – co-author of the current study – of endometriosis as a chronic systemic disease with manifestations outside the reproductive tract, our findings highlight how childhood and adult trauma may contribute to the pathogenesis of endometriosis with mechanisms that appear independent of the genetic predisposition,” said Koller.
An early diagnosis strategy
The associations identified between endometriosis and traumatic events are consistent with a previous study by the same research team that linked the disease to depression, anxiety and eating disorders.
These combined findings highlight the importance of assessing the physical and mental health of patients with endometriosis.
“Although the results need to be confirmed in other cohorts, they suggest that we may be able to design early endometriosis screening programmes that consider not only genetic factors, but also a history of physical trauma or other risk factors. This would help to identify and treat the disease more comprehensively and effectively,” Koller said.
WUKA has announced a groundbreaking partnership with the Royal Yachting Association (RYA), including RYA Scotland and RYA Northern Ireland, supporting women and girls in sailing.
Building on WUKA’s growing #TackleAnything campaign – which has already reached thousands of girls across sports in the UK – this collaboration brings practical period solutions into sailing.
Together, WUKA and the RYA are committed to breaking down barriers so periods never limit confidence, participation, or performance on the water.
Ruby Raut, WUKA founder & CEO, said: “Partnering with the RYA has been incredibly important for us at WUKA.
“Sailing is an amazing way for women and girls to build confidence, and periods shouldn’t hold anyone back from enjoying the water or reaching their full potential.
“Through this partnership and our #TackleAnything campaign, we’re proud to provide practical solutions and innovative products that help female sailors feel comfortable, confident, and free to focus on learning, performing, and having fun.
“Breaking down barriers and supporting women to tackle anything — on land, at sea, and everywhere in between – has never felt more meaningful.”
WUKA, which stands for Wake-Up Kick Ass, shares the RYA’s commitment to inclusivity and empowerment.
In 2023, WUKA launched #TackleAnything, a campaign supporting women, girls and sportspeople with periods. Since its launch, the initiative has reached 3,576 girls across 46 clubs and partnered with a range of sports across the UK – from Scottish Gymnastics to Titans wheelchair basketball – helping young athletes play without limits and stay confident, comfortable, and in the game.
The brand offers period-friendly aquatic apparel and practical solutions that help women train and compete with freedom of movement and total assurance.
Through this partnership, WUKA will provide innovative period swimwear for young sailors across key RYA programmes, including the NI Sailing Team, the RYA Scotland Performance Pathway Programme, and the British Sailing Pathways Talent Academies.
By combining WUKA’s mission to challenge stigma with the RYA’s commitment to inclusion, the partnership ensures young sailors can focus on what matters most – learning, performing, and enjoying their time on the water – with confidence and comfort. RYA members will also receive a 10 per cent discount on WUKA products.
Sailing offers incredible benefits for women and girls, but time on the water can present unique challenges -particularly during menstruation.
Together, WUKA and the RYA are providing practical solutions that remove these barriers, helping young sailors participate fully and confidently in the sport.
Sara Sutcliffe, RYA CEO, said: “At the RYA, we have been making strides to break down barriers for women of all ages to help ensure they can experience the water in a supportive and positive environment.
“From education workshops and practical sessions, we want to make sure our female sailors are empowered and this partnership is another great example of how we can demonstrate possible tools to equip them to succeed”.
This partnership is part of the RYA’s wider commitment to making sailing a sport where women and girls can thrive. Alongside initiatives such as the Female Futures Group, the Women’s Race Officials Programme and all new Talent Academy Female Future’s Camps; it demonstrates a continued focus on removing barriers and creating meaningful opportunities across every stage of the sailing.
WUKA’s involvement ensures that practical solutions are available on the water, from innovative period swimwear to support resources, helping young sailors feel fully equipped and confident during training and competition.
By integrating these tools into RYA programmes, WUKA brings a new level of comfort and assurance to female athletes, allowing them to focus entirely on performance, enjoyment, and growth in the sport.
For any women and girls looking to learn more about sailing, visit www.rya.org.uk.
For more information on WUKA visit www.wuka.co.uk.
London’s shifting population is holding down breast screening uptake, experts have said, with the capital at 62.8 per cent in 2024, below the NHS’s acceptable 70 per cent threshold.
The London Assembly Health Committee recently heard that the capital faces distinct challenges compared with the rest of the country and that these issues must be addressed.
Josephine Ruwende, a cancer screening lead at NHS England, said frequent moves within the rented sector and the cost-of-living crisis pushing people out of London had made it difficult to reach eligible patients, which she described as “population churn”.
She said: “This is people changing addresses and then not updating their GP, this then affects the invitation process because GP details are used to identify individuals who are eligible.
“In boroughs where we have the highest population churn, we see it strongly associated with lower uptake.”
She noted that even in the wealthiest boroughs there can be high levels of movement, with around 40 per cent of residents changing address within a year.
Such areas also tend to have more people who own second homes or spend long periods abroad, making it harder for the NHS to keep contact details up to date.
As a result, screening invitations may be sent to out-of-date addresses or to people who are overseas.
Leeane Graham, advocacy lead at Black Women Rising, which supports women of colour with a cancer diagnosis, said there were cultural barriers, fear and a mistrust of the health service due to previous experience within communities.
She said: “If you’ve never been for a breast screening before, the thought of having a mammogram can be really, really terrifying.”
Helen Dickens, from Breast Cancer Now, said other reasons included a lack of understanding of breast screening, along with concerns about discomfort, trust and practical issues such as travel.
She said: “We have amazing public transport and we feel that we’ve got great accessibility, but we also know that we don’t have screening centres in every borough.
“We know that for some women that barrier of transport and access will still be a really big reason why they’re not attending screenings.”
NHS London launched its first screening campaign last year in response to the figures, aiming to increase detection at an earlier stage.
Following a Mediterranean diet is linked to a lower risk of stroke in women, a large cohort study suggests.
Women with the highest adherence were 18 per cent less likely to experience any stroke, including a 16 per cent lower risk of ischaemic stroke and a 25 per cent lower risk of haemorrhagic stroke.
Ischaemic stroke happens when blood flow to part of the brain is blocked. Haemorrhagic stroke is caused by bleeding in the brain.
Study author Sophia Wang of City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center said: “Our findings support the mounting evidence that a healthy diet is critical to stroke prevention.
“We were especially interested to see that this finding applies to haemorrhagic stroke, as few large studies have looked at this type of stroke.”
The study involved 105,614 women, average age 53 at the start, with no history of stroke.
Participants completed a diet questionnaire and received a score from zero to nine based on adherence.
Researchers at City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center in Duarte, California followed participants for an average of 21 years.
During that time, 4,083 strokes occurred, including 3,358 ischaemic and 725 haemorrhagic events.
The Mediterranean pattern features high intake of vegetables, legumes, fruits, fish and healthy fats such as olive oil, and a lower intake of dairy products, red meat and saturated fats.
After adjusting for smoking, physical activity and high blood pressure, those in the highest adherence group were 18 per cent less likely to have a stroke than those in the lowest group.
They were 16 per cent less likely to have an ischaemic stroke and 25 per cent less likely to have a haemorrhagic stroke.
Wang said: “Stroke is a leading cause of death and disability, so it’s exciting to think that improving our diets could lessen our risk for this devastating diseas.
“Further studies are needed to confirm these findings and to help us understand the mechanisms behind them so we could identify new ways to prevent stroke.”
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