Diet and The Risk of Endometriosis in Iranian Women: A Case-Control Study

Endometriosis is one of the most common pelvic diseases associated with dyspareunia, pelvic pain,and infertility. The primary aim of this study is to evaluate the role of diet on the risk of endometriosis among Iranianwomen.

This case-control study was conducted in two health research centres between 2015 and2016. There were 207 women with endometriosis (case) and 206 women without endometriosis (control) who wereevaluated by laparoscopy. The women were asked about their frequency of consumption per week of portions of selecteddietary items in the Iranian diet in the year before the interview.

The results indicated that intake of green vegetables (odds ratio [OR]=0.39, 95% confidence interval[CI]=0.21–0.74, Ptrend=0.004), red meat (OR=0.61, 95% CI=0.41–0.91, Ptrend=0.015) and dairy products (milk[OR=0.65, 95% CI=0.47–0.92, Ptrend=0.014], cheese [OR=0.53, 95% CI=0.37–0.76, Ptrend<0.001]), fresh fruit(OR=0.68, 95% CI=0.50–0.93, Ptrend=0.015) and grain legumes (OR=0.59, 95% CI=0.47–0.77; Ptrend<0.001) had asignificant association with lower risk of endometriosis. Consumption of carrots, green tea, fish, eggs and oil was notsignificantly related to the risk of endometriosis.

This study suggests that certain types of dietary components may be related to the risk of endometriosis.