Endometriosis, pelvic pain, and psychological functioning.

OBJECTIVE

To investigate whether there are psychological differences between women with symptomatic as opposed to asymptomatic mild endometriosis.

DESIGN

Forty-nine women with minimal or mild endometriosis completed the Beck Depression Inventory, the Speilberger State-Trait analysis, and the Golombok Rust Inventory of Sexual Satisfaction. Women admitted for sterilization acted as normal controls and women complaining of pelvic pain with no organic pathology were studied also.

SETTING

Tertiary referral centers for endometriosis.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Women with pelvic pain symptoms, whether they had mild endometriosis or a normal pelvis, had similar scores for the Beck Depression Inventory. These scores were significantly higher than those of women with asymptomatic disease and normal women admitted for sterilization.

CONCLUSIONS

Women with mild endometriosis should not be included as a control group when studies on pelvic pain are planned.