title: Association of body mass index with severity of endometriosis in Korean women.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the relationship between endometriosis severity and body mass index (BMI).
  
  
  METHODS
  Of 481 women seen for endometriosis at a university hospital in Korea, 153 had stage I, 113 had stage II, 110 had stage III, and 105 had stage IV disease. The patients' BMIs were categorized according to World Health Organization criteria for Asian-Pacific populations.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Women with early or mild endometriosis (stages I or II) had a significantly higher BMI than those with advanced disease (stages III or IV) (P<0.001). After adjusting for age, parity, and menstrual factors, an association between BMI and disease stage remained significant (P<0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Women with advanced-stage endometriosis had lower BMIs than those with minimal or mild disease, and BMI was significantly associated with disease severity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, College of Medicine, Korea University, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Kyong Wook
authors.initials: KW
authors.lastname: Yi
authors.forename: Jung-Ho
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Shin
authors.forename: Man Sik
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Tak
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Sun Haeng
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Jun-Young
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Hur
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D044466:Asian People; D015992:Body Mass Index; D004715:Endometriosis / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D006785:Hospitals, University; D006801:Humans; D007723:Korea / Q000453:epidemiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D014944:World Health Organization; D055815:Young Adult