Study Reveals Significant Increase in Endometriosis Diagnoses in Australian Women

A new study has found the number of Australians with endometriosis presenting to a general practitioner has almost doubled in ten years.

The research, conducted by Monash University’s SPHERE Centre of Research Excellence, analysed data from almost 20,000 patients with endometriosis, aged 14 – 49 years, who received care from 660 general practitioners across 2,700 clinics across Australia.

“We saw a significant increase in women attending general practice with endometriosis. They present to the GP with a broad range of symptoms, which can make it difficult for a GP to recognise the presence of endometriosis,” said Professor Danielle Mazza, SPHERE Centre of Research Excellence Director and lead author of the study.

“Endometriosis can be difficult to diagnose, as symptoms are often complex and can be present in a range of conditions other than endometriosis. We need to provide support to GPs so they are better able to identify and manage endometriosis. There is more to be done.”

Signs of increasing endometriosis awareness

These findings underscore both the growing awareness of the condition and the urgent need for continued investment in education, research, and support services.

Endometriosis Australia’s deputy chair and co-founder Donna Ciccia praised the endometriosis community for using their stories to help improve education about the condition across Australia.

“Thank you to our incredible community for raising your voices over the past 13 years — together, we’ve turned silence into awareness so that people with endometriosis are finally being heard,” Ms Ciccia said.

The study also suggested the median time to diagnose endometriosis in women attending general practice is 2.5 years. It also found a significant increase in the use of pelvic ultrasounds requested by medical practitioners for diagnosis from the analysis period from 2011 to 2021.

Endometriosis Australia’s Medical Director, A/Prof Anusch Yazdani said the findings add to the body of evidence demonstrating how endometriosis is truly experienced and managed in Australian primary care.

“The study provides the most current real-world data showing that diagnosis of endometriosis in general practice almost doubled between 2011 and 2021. Crucially, the time it takes from the first documentation of a symptom to receiving a diagnosis in general practice has now reduced to 2.5 years,” Dr Yazdani said.

“We also see GPs increasingly utilising pelvic ultrasound as a first-line investigation (nearly tripling the rate over the decade), aligning strongly with the Australian Living Evidence Guideline,” he said.

“Unfortunately, while this study has shown that the time to diagnosis of 2.5 years is shorter than historical estimates, the paper was unable to estimate how long women had suffered prior to presenting to their GP. The majority of women in this study lived in urban, high socio-economic areas, again highlighting the potential health disparity for rural & remote and lower socioeconomic populations.”

“More concerningly, the data also highlighted a significant increase in opioid prescriptions following diagnosis. While the study demonstrated increased use of the progesterone IUD and non-contraceptive progestogens, non-pharmacological options like physiotherapy are key components of care, as alternatives to long-term reliance on heavy pain medications,” concluded A/Prof Yazdani.

The clinical presentation, investigation, and management of women diagnosed with endometriosis in Australian general practices, 2011–2021: an open cohort study, was published this month in the Medical Journal of Australia (MJA).