Endometriosis and Risk of Coronary Heart Disease

+Author Affiliations

From the Department of Epidemiology (F.M., J.R.-E., E.B.R., D.S., S.A.M.), Department of Nutrition (E.B.R., D.S.), and Department of Biostatistics (D.S.), Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA; Connors Center for Women’s Health and Gender Biology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA (J.R.-E.); Channing Division of Network Medicine, Department of Medicine (E.B.R., S.A.M.) and Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Biology (S.A.M.), Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA.

Correspondence to Fan Mu, ScD, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, ObGyn Epidemiology Center, 221 Longwood Ave, Boston, MA 02115. E-mailfam434@mail.harvard.edu

Next Section

Abstract

Background—Endometriosis is a prevalent gynecologic disease associated with systemic chronic inflammation, heightened oxidative stress, and atherogenic lipid profile that may increase women’s risk for coronary heart disease (CHD).

Methods and Results—We examined the prospective association between laparoscopically confirmed endometriosis and subsequent CHD among 116 430 women in the Nurses’ Health Study II (1989–2009). Participants with a history of heart disease and stroke were excluded. When compared with women without endometriosis, women with laparoscopically confirmed endometriosis had a higher risk of myocardial infarction (relative risk, 1.52; 95% confidence interval, 1.17–1.98), angiographically confirmed angina (1.91; 1.59–2.29), coronary artery bypass graft surgery/coronary angioplasty procedure/stent (1.35; 1.08–1.69), or any of these CHD end points combined (1.62; 1.39–1.89), independent of potential demographic, anthropometric, family history, reproductive, and lifestyle confounders. Relative risk for the combined CHD end point was highest among women aged ≤40 years (3.08; 2.02–4.70) and decreased as age increased (40< age ≤50 years, 1.65; 1.35–2.02; 50< age ≤55 years, 1.44; 1.07–1.94; and age >55 years, 0.98; 0.56–1.72; P value, test for heterogeneity=0.001). Having had a hysterectomy/oophorectomy was associated with higher risk of combined CHD compared with not having had a hysterectomy/oophorectomy (1.51; 1.34–1.71). A percentage of 42 of the association between endometriosis and CHD could be explained by greater frequency of hysterectomy/oophorectomy and earlier age at surgery after endometriosis diagnosis.

Conclusions—In this large, prospective cohort, laparoscopically confirmed endometriosis was associated with increased risk of CHD. The association was strongest among young women. Hysterectomy/oophorectomy was associated with higher risk of CHD and could partially explain the association between endometriosis and CHD.

Key Words: