Childhood Trauma Boosts Endometriosis Risk

Key Takeaways

• A traumatic childhood might increase a woman’s later risk of endometriosis

• Exposure to violence had the largest effect, but risk also increased with sexual abuse or troubled parents

• The more traumas a child had, the greater their risk

FRIDAY, June 13, 2025 (HealthDay News) — Traumatic childhood events can increase a woman’s risk of endometriosis later in life, a new study says.

Women’s endometriosis risk increased 20% if they had experienced childhood ordeals such as violence, sexual abuse, a death in the family, poverty or troubled parents, researchers reported June 11 in the journal Human Reproduction.

Violence produced the strongest link, more than doubling a woman’s odds that she would develop endometriosis, results show.

“We also saw that the more adverse experiences in childhood, the higher the risk,” lead researcher Marika Rostvall, a physician and doctoral student at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, said in a news release.

“Among those who had five or more factors, the risk increased to 60%,” Rostvall said.

In endometriosis, tissue similar to the lining of the uterus grows outside the uterus, attaching to the abdominal lining, ovaries and other organs, researchers said in background notes.

These lesions bleed during menstruation, causing pain, inflammation and bands of scar tissue (adhesions) between organs, researchers said.

Endometriosis is relatively common, affecting about 1 in every 10 women, but its causes are not fully understood, researchers said. 

For this study, researchers tracked the health of more than 1.3 million women born in Sweden between 1974 and 2001, of whom more than 24,000 were diagnosed with endometriosis.

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The research team linked these health records to other national registers to map the traumas these women faced during childhood. 

“The results suggest that early life experiences can affect the body's health much later in life and highlight the importance of looking at the whole person, not just the symptoms,” Rostvall said. “The findings are also in line with previous research showing that difficulties in childhood have profound consequences for future health.”

Rostvall has two theories why childhood trauma could increase endometriosis risk, although this observational study cannot prove a direct cause-and-effect link.

"One explanation is that stress during childhood can affect the immune system, which could prevent it from effectively eliminating endometriosis tissue,” Rostvall said.

“Another explanation is that trauma during childhood could affect the body's sensitivity to pain, which can lead to increased pain and thus a higher likelihood of being diagnosed with endometriosis," she added.

More information

The Office on Women’s Health has more about endometriosis.

SOURCE: Karolinska Institute, news release, June 11, 2025

What This Means For You

Women who’ve had childhood traumas should talk with their doctor about a possible increased risk for endometriosis.