How you LOOK can predict your risk of endometriosis

ENDOMETRIOSIS can be a painful condition that plagues many women for years.

It’s hard to treat and difficult to diagnose – but an expert has now said there might be a way to ‘calculate’ who might have the disease.

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The condition refers to when tissue resembling the lining of the uterus grows outside the abdomen.

Common symptoms include painful intercourse, heavy periods, infertility and excessive menstrual cramps – one in ten women worldwide are thought to have the condition.

It can also prevent infertility, and to try to remove this obstacle for women, an expert is developing an “endo calculator”.

dr Charlotte Reddington, a researcher at Australia’s Royal Women’s Hospital, is studying biological markers in women that may indicate they are more likely to develop the disease.

So far said Dr. Reddington during her research that indicators like your hair and eye color can make a difference in whether or not you have the condition.

She also found that a woman’s body mass index (BMI) could help determine this.

BMI is a measure that uses both your height and weight to determine if you are at a healthy weight.

dr Reddington said the distance between the vagina and anus, which is an indicator of estrogen exposure, could also be a factor.

In many cases, endometriosis can only be detected through surgery – which can be painful and isn’t always guaranteed to work.

“We really want people to have a better idea of ​​how likely it is that they have endometriosis before they start surgery.

“We’re trying to create this calculator based on people’s symptoms and other demographics about them: their age, height and weight, and genetic factors,” said Dr. Reddington Age.

She said her team wants to combine the factors to make a more informed calculation of endometriosis risk.

Other experts have said tests like this could help women who are struggling to conceive.

IVF specialist Dr. Vanessa Ross said that among women with endometriosis, a major symptom in 30 to 50 percent of them is having trouble conceiving.

She added that women with the condition often have poorer outcomes, including higher rates of miscarriage, gestational diabetes and low-birth-weight babies.