Is endometriosis associated with systemic lupus erythematosus?

Objective-To determine whether women with endometriosis are more likely than controls to have systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), or other autoimmune disorders. Design-One-time observational study on a presenting group. Patients-All women undergoing hysterectomy at Sinai Hospital of Baltimore between July 1988 and December 1989 for endometriosis (cases, N = 22) or uterine fibroids (controls, N = 185). Methods-Fisher's exact test was used to compare the proportion of patients in each group with a history of SLE, autoimmune disorder, or past glucocorticoid treatment. Results-Cases were significantly more likely than controls to have a history of SLE-2/22 vs. 0/85, P < .01. Conclusions-This is the first study to demonstrate that women with endometriosis are more likely to have a history of SLE than a similar group of women unaffected by endometriosis.