Endometriosis first diagnosed after menopause in 1.1% of women
Among 80,148 women without a reported endometriosis diagnosis before menopause, 1.1% reported their first diagnosis after menopause.
In a prospective observational study, researchers followed 80,148 women in the Nurses’ Health Study II who had not reported an endometriosis diagnosis before menopause. Endometriosis involves tissue resembling the womb lining growing outside the womb. The researchers analysed cohort data from 1989 to 2019.
After menopause, 883 women reported a first surgically confirmed diagnosis. Their median age at diagnosis was 50.6 years. Among those diagnosed, 69.9% had menopause caused by surgery, and 69.5% were currently using hormones. Menopause caused by surgery was associated with a higher risk of diagnosis than natural menopause without hormone use. The authors said these diagnoses likely represented a mixture of previously unrecognised disease that persisted or returned from before menopause, and new areas of endometriosis that developed afterwards.
Why it matters
Endometriosis research has largely focused on women before menopause. Understanding the condition after this transition matters for distinguishing disease that persists with age from disease that develops later.
Caveats
This observational study measured first diagnoses, not when disease began, and cannot establish cause and effect. It excluded women who reported an endometriosis diagnosis before menopause.
The paper
Grand Rapids Community College
Maturitas, 10 Oct 2026
