Comparing psychological distress, health-related quality of life and pain in people diagnosed with endometriosis and those suspected to have endometriosis

Purpose: To assess whether pain, psychological distress and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) differ in people diagnosed with endometriosis and those suspected to have endometriosis. Methods: This study was a cross-sectional online survey of people with a confirmed ( n = 550) or suspected ( n = 103) diagnosis of endometriosis, recruited via the social media of Australian endometriosis organisations. The survey collected demographic and endometriosis-specific characteristics as well as measures of pain, psychological distress and HRQoL. Analysis of variance was conducted to compare groups on key variables. Results: The suspected endometriosis group reported significantly greater pelvic pain ( F (1, 651) = 8.427, p = .004; partial η2 = .013), symptoms of depression ( F (1, 651) = 4.658, p = .031; partial η2 = .007), symptoms of anxiety ( F (1, 651) = 9.437, p = .002; partial η2 = .014), and HRQoL in the EHP-5 domains of pain ( F (1, 651) = 4.114, p = .043; partial η2 = .006.), control and powerlessness ( F (1, 651) = 4.129, p = .043; partial η2 = .006), and emotional wellbeing ( F (1, 651) = 4.310, p = .038; partial η2 = .00.) than the diagnosed group. Conclusions: People suspected to have endometriosis reported significantly higher pain and psychological distress and poorer HRQoL than those diagnosed. This suggests that diagnosis is associated with lower levels of pain and psychological distress and greater HRQoL, possibly due to improved accessibility to treatment and validation and removal of uncertainty.