Is endometriosis based on a genetic or familial factor?
A. Several studies have shown that the incidence of endometriosis is much higher in women having a sister or mother who has already had endometriosis. There was a study conducted involving more than 150 women with endometriosis; of these, 18 (12 percent) were found to have a mother or sister with endometriosis. However, in the same group of women, only two (1.5 percent) showed that they had a mother-in-law or sister-in-law who had endometriosis. This clearly shows that there is a familial tendency with endometriosis. As one can see from these figures, there is almost an eight-fold increase in the risk of endometriosis in women whose mother or sister has been diagnosed as having the disease. Equally important was the finding that endometriosis on a familial basis tended to be at a more advanced stage when diagnosed and also that it acts more aggressively. It has been suggested that endometriosis might result from an inheritable immunodeficiency state.
