Publications

This page records m he reproductive team. This included ones published in medical journals and our summaries for the public. If you want to ask any questions or things don't make sense, feel free to email me at r.l.mawson@sheffield.ac.uk


Endometriosis: time to think differently (and together)Endometriosis affects approximately 10% of people assigned female at birth, an estimated 190 million women worldwide.1 At an individual level, endometriosis can be asymptomatic, or can cause a spectrum of chronic pain, fatigue, bowel and bladder symptoms, depression, and other comorbidities, including infertility. A challenge for clinicians, perhaps notably in general practice, is that endometriosis is markedly heterogeneous, with no predictable correlation between symptoms experienced and the extent of endometriosis identified during diagnostic laparoscopy or on imaging. Likewise, endometriosis-associated pain can persist when visibly apparent endometriosis is treated.1 Economically, the annual accumulated cost of endometriosis is estimated to be £12.5 billion in the UK, including treatment, health care, loss of productivity, and absence from work.1 Endometriosis has significant potential adverse impacts on an individual’s quality of life.1 On average, sufferers lose up to 11 hours of work per week due to endometriosis symptoms, a figure similar to chronic conditions such as type 2 diabetes, Crohn’s disease, and rheumatoid arthritis.1 Many people with endometriosis experience complex journeys to (and through) care. The average delay in diagnosis in the UK between presentation with symptoms and being diagnosed with endometriosis is 8–9 years — and this has not changed over the last decade, despite changes in guidance, awareness-raising campaigns, and a UK All Party Parliamentary Group report.2 These figures are similar worldwide, speaking to the complexity of diagnosis.1 While endometriosis in adolescence used to be considered rare, a majority of those diagnosed with endometriosis recall symptom onset in adolescence, and many remember not being offered timely treatment.1 These challenges in care experiences — and the overarching need to work to improve them — was a central finding and conclusion of the Women’s Health Strategy for England and the Scottish Women’s Health Plan.3,4 …