CLINICAL PREDICTIVE FACTORS FOR DIAGNOSIS OF ENDOMETRIOSIS IN IRANIAN INFERTILE POPULATION

Background: Endometriosis changes the management of infertile women. Objectives: Our aim was to evaluate some of the clinical predictive factors among an Iranian infertile population. Patients and Methods: Infertile women, scheduled for diagnostic laparoscopy, were recruited into the study and their information including age, weight, height, educational level, marriage and breast-feeding duration, history of fertility, menstrual characteristics, dysmenorrhea, and dyspareunia were collected. Clinical characteristics were then compared with laparoscopic results. Results: Of 441 infertile women, 82 (18.6%) had endometriosis. No statistically significant difference was identified in the participants’ age, educational level, duration of breast-feeding, duration of infertility, and menstrual flow. On the contrary, women with endometriosis had longer duration of marriage (OR = 1.03, P = 0.002), older age at first pregnancy (OR = 1.21, P < 0.05), lower BMI (OR = 0.9, P = 0.001), shorter interval of menses (OR = 0.98, P < 0.05), and history of irregular menstrual cycles (OR = 0.54, P < 0.05), compared to those without endometriosis. The risk of the endometriosis also decreased significantly with increased numbers of previous pregnancies. The OR for endometriosis in the presence of dysmenorrhea and dyspareunia were 1.80 (1.02 - 3.04) and 1.82 (1.01 - 3.29), respectively. Conclusions: Lower BMI, longer duration of marriage, shorter menstrual cycles, dyspareunia, and dysmenorrhea are predictive factors for diagnosis of endometriosis in infertile population. These clinical factors should be considered prior to diagnostic laparoscopy for infertility.