Diet

IOSR Journal of Nursing and Health Science (IOSR-JNHS) e-ISSN: 2320–1959.p- ISSN: 2320–1940 Volume 1, Issue 5 (Jul – Aug 2013), PP 04-11 www.iosrjournals.org

Diet – A New Approach To Treating Endometriosis – What Is The Evidence? Deepa Shaji Thomas1 , Jansi Rani Natarajan2 1

( College Of Nursing, Sultan Qaboos University, Oman ) ( College Of Nursing, Sultan Qaboos University, Oman)

2

Submitted date 17 June 2013

Accepted Date: 22 June 2013

I. INTRODUCTION Endometriosis affects over 70 million women worldwide and is more common than breast cancer and diabetes. A survey in 2005 showed that in the European Union, endometriosis cost member states more than €30bn a year in lost working days, and of the 7025 women with endometriosis who completed the survey, 82% reported that the condition had caused them to take time off work in the past five years. Endometriosis is a gynecological disorder characterized by the presence and growth of endometrial tissue outside the uterine cavity1. The prevalence of endometriosis among asymptomatic women ranges from 2–22%, while in women with infertility the incidence of endometriosis is 35% to 50%2. This pathology represents one of the most frequent gynecological disorders during women's reproductive age. Endometriosis is a hormone-dependent, chronic inflammatory gynaecological condition that causes pelvic pain symptoms impacting on the physical, mental and social wellbeing of reproductive-age women (Bianconi et al., 2007)3. Despite the high prevalence, which has been estimated to be between 6–10% (Parazzini et al., 1994)4 and the recognized economic burden associated with the disease (Simoens et al., 2012)5, its aetiology remains elusive. Various pathogenetic factors – menstrual, genetic, environmental, lifestyle – have been claimed to be implicated in the disease establishment and development (Viganò et al., 20046 and Viganò et al., 20127). The precise pathogenesis of endometriosis is unclear, and several theories have been proposed. Retrograde menstruation is widely accepted as a contributing factor to the disease but, as the phenomenon occurs in up to 90% of women, other factors in the pathogenesis of the disease have been suggested 8. The immune response to endometriotic tissue outside the uterus seems to be impaired with inadequate removal of lesions as a result. Increased exposure to oestrogens is a common link among several known risk factors for endometriosis. Local oestrogen production coupled with circulating oestrogen stimulates the proliferation of ectopic endometrial tissue potentially leading to endometriosis9. Menarche at early age, shorter menstrual cycle length, nulliparity and greater height are all risk factors for endometriosis that are also associated with increased levels of circulating oestrogen concentrations10. The risk of endometriosis is increased up to five times in siblings indicating that a genetic component is involved11 . An autoimmune aetiology has also been implied 12 and , and exposure to environmental toxins has been suggested although results are not consistent13 . Dietary factors have been the focus of a growing number of endometriosis patient-directed books and web-sites. Unfortunately, there is little direct scientific evidence to support these suggestions. Diet may have a role in the aetiology of endometriosis through its influence on steroid hormone levels, among other potential mechanisms. Some observational studies have shown that plant-based diets and diets high in fibre increase oestrogen excretion and decrease concentrations of bioavailable oestrogen, and thus may lower endometriosis risk. Additionally, high-fat diets have been associated with increased serum oestrone, oestrone sulphate and oestradiol levels in premenopausal women, suggesting that diets low in fat and high in fibre may modify endometriosis risk by altering steroid hormone metabolism. The role of nutrition in determining the establishment and progression of endometriosis has recently become a topic of interest, mostly due to the observation that some of the physiological and pathological processes associated with the disease, such as inflammation, oestrogen activity, menstrual cyclicity, organochlorine burden and prostaglandin metabolism, can be influenced by diet (Missmer et al., 2010)14. scientific research has demonstrated that diet and fat excess may strongly affect the incidence. Antioxidant properties of nutritional supplementation are associated with a significant reduction in inflammatory endometriosis-related markers, and with a suppressive effect on the endometrial-cell survival in vitro15. Two studies have found a positive association between oxidative stress and endometriosis. Reactive oxygen species may affect the growth of endometrial tissue. The presence of endometriosis increased oxidative stress and depletion of antioxidants may www.iosrjournals.org

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Diet – A New Approach To Treating Endometriosis – What Is The Evidence? contribute to excessive growth of endometrial cells. Significantly, lower levels of vitamin E were found in the peritoneal fluid than in plasma, suggesting that the peritoneal cavity has less antioxidant protection than serum, so the fluid containing the endometriosis might be more susceptible to oxidative stress. Antioxidant nutrients such as the vitamins A, C and E may be supportive. Increased oxidative stress, a result of increased production of free radicals or depletion of the body’s endogenous antioxidant defense, has been implicated in its pathogenesis. Oxidative stress is thought to promote angiogenesis and the growth and proliferation of endometriotic implants. Oxidative stress in the reproductive tract microenvironment is known to negatively affect sperm count and quality and may also arrest fertilized egg division leading to embryo death 16. Considering the high prevalence of the disease and its difficult diagnosis and therapeutic management as a result of its complex pathogenesis, which is yet to be fully clarified, a question has been raised regarding whether women affected by endometriosis have certain nutritional peculiarities . The objectives of this review were to assess a possible association between dietary components and endometriosis from the existing literature and, if possible, to identify potential modifiable risk factors of the disease and to specify dietary recommendations for women suffering with this enigmatic gynecologic disorder.

II.

Aims And Methods

A search for relevant studies was conducted. The databases used for researches were: CINAHL, Medline plus, Science Direct, SCOPUS,& PubMed. The following search terms were used: endometriosis and related factors like diet, fat, dairy products, fish, coffee and antioxidants .The inclusion criteria required the articles to be written in English &the studies on human beings only. The dates for the search were 2003-2013. A total of 255 articles were identified by electronic searches , 110 articles were excluded for citation duplication and 92 were excluded based on abstracts and titles. 20 of which were full text articles focusing on endometriosis and diet. We excluded 8 articles , as 4 were based on serum levels of nutrients, 2 were animal studies and the other 2 were review articles. With detailed inspection and evaluation of the articles, 12 articles met the inclusion criteria. A synthesis table was developed describing the characteristics of the studies used in the figure 1. The data extracted for the synthesis of the table included author, country, year, participants, methods, instruments study purpose and main findings. III. Analysis Of Findings Two authors reviewed the papers and independently selected the articles eligible for the review. If multiple published reports from a same study were available, we included only one with the most detailed information, or published more recently. Data were extracted by 2 investigators and discrepancies were resolved by discussion. 3.1 Results A total of 12 studies conducted in 6 countries like USA-5, Italy-3, Japan-1, Mexico-1, Belgium-1, and Brazil-1 met the inclusion criteria for this review. The articles were published between the years 2003-2012. Details of all these quantitative studies are shown in Table.1. Majority of the studies were case control studies 4,one cohort study, 3 retrospective studies, 1 randomized experimental study, comparative studies-2, single blinded clinical study. Majority of the studies used FFQ (Food frequency questionnaire) to assess the dietary intake. Clinical trials used lab values of anti-oxidant markers additionally to assess their dietary patterns. Holly R. Harris et al.,(2013)17 investigated whether intake of dairy foods, nutrients concentrated in dairy foods, and predicted plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) levels were associated with incident laparoscopically confirmed endometriosis among 1,385 cases. Intakes of total and low-fat dairy foods were associated with a lower risk of endometriosis. Women consuming more than 3 servings of total dairy foods per day were 18% less likely to be diagnosed with endometriosis than those reporting 2 servings per day (rate ratio = 0.82, 95% confidence interval: 0.71, 0.95; P trend = 0.03). In addition, predicted plasma 25(OH)D level was inversely associated with endometriosis. Women in the highest quintile of predicted vitamin D level had a 24% lower risk of endometriosis than women in the lowest quintile (rate ratio = 0.76, 95% confidence interval: 0.60, 0.97; P trend = 0.004). Findings suggested that greater predicted plasma 25(OH)D levels and higher intake of dairy foods are associated with a decreased risk of endometriosis. Marziali et al.,(2012)18, conducted a retrospective study to evaluate the effectiveness of gluten-free diet for 12 months on endometriosis-related pain and quality of life in patients with endometriosis-related chronic pelvic pain. Two hundred and seven patients with severe painful endometriosis-related symptoms entered the study. At enrolment time, the baseline values of painful symptoms were assessed by Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) for dysmenorrhoea, non-menstrual pelvic pain, and dyspareunia. A gluten-free diet was submitted to all patients and a new evaluation was performed after 12 months of diet. Student t test was used for statistical analysis. At 12 month follow-up, 156 patients (75%) reported statistically significant change in painful symptoms www.iosrjournals.org

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