Endometriosis: Asian Women May Be at Higher Risk

Why asian women are more prone to endometriosis: A possible explanation

Asian women appear to be more prone to severe endometriosis.

Asian women appear to be more prone to deep infiltrating endometriosis, the serious form of the disease, than their Western counterparts, shared the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology from Singapore General Hospital (SGH), a member of the SingHealth group.

Why asian women are more prone to endometriosis: A possible explanation

Endometriosis appears to run in families in some cases. There is also evidence that Asian women experience higher levels of bleeding than Caucasians when menstruating.

“That would imply that retrograde menstruation is likely to be more common,” shared the department.

Retrograde menstruation is one of the likeliest explanations for endometriosis. It happens when menstrual blood containing endometrial cells flows back through the fallopian tubes and into the pelvic cavity instead of out of the body, and sticks to the walls and surfaces of organs.

Women in Singapore also tend to avoid hormonal contraceptives, unlike European women.

“Among European women, there is a very high percentage of use of oral contraceptives. Contraceptives are a medical treatment for endometriosis. So they are inadvertently protecting themselves against endometriosis while delaying motherhood to pursue their careers. But, the use of hormonal contraception is Singapore is very low,” the department added.

Among the different races in Singapore, Indian women appear to be less prone to endometriosis than Chinese and Malay women.