Association of body mass index with severity of endometriosis in Korean women.
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.
Yi
Kyong Wook
KW
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, College of Medicine, Korea University, Seoul, Korea.
Shin
Jung-Ho
JH
Park
Man Sik
MS
Kim
Tak
T
Kim
Sun Haeng
SH
Hur
Jun-Young
JY
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