October 22
,
2012
by: ASRM Office of Public Affairs
Published in ASRM Press Release
Note: All information is embargoed until the time of presentation at the meeting, unless otherwise indicated.
HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE 68th ANNUAL MEETING OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR REPRODUCTIVE MEDICINE
Embargoed for Release: Monday, October 22, 2012 – 1:30 PM Pacific Daylight TimeChild Abuse Associated with Reproductive Disorders Later in Life
San Diego, CA - Two studies were presented at the 68th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine that described an apparent link between childhood abuse and reproductive disorders later in life.
The first, done by a team out of Harvard, showed that women who reported child sexual or physical abuse had a 13% greater risk of developing endometriosis than women who reported no such abuse. More severe or more incidents of abuse appeared to increase the likelihood that women would develop endometriosis later in life. The researchers examined the Nurses Health Study, which collected data from more than 60,000 women starting in 1989.
The second study, performed by a team from the University of California San Francisco and funded by the National Institutes of Health, found that women who experienced sexual abuse were more likely to suffer accelerated ovarian follicle loss at midlife. In this study, 131 women who were enrolled in a study to examine ovarian aging were administered a questionnaire about childhood sexual abuse. They found that women who had experienced severe abuse had a 50% higher rate of follicle decline than those who reported no abuse.
“These studies are important, and very disturbing. We need to take steps to better understand the relationship between childhood sexual abuse and subsequent reproductive disorders. More importantly, we must all increase our efforts to put an end to childhood abuse and help treat those who have been victimized,” said Dolores J. Lamb, PhD, President of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine.
O-138 Abuse in Childhood is Related to Accelerated Ovarian Follicle Loss at Midlife
M.E. Bleil et al
P-359 Abuse in Childhood and Risk of Endometriosis
F. Wieser et al
The American Society for Reproductive Medicine, founded in 1944, is an organization of more than 7,000 physicians, researchers, nurses, technicians and other professionals dedicated to advancing knowledge and expertise in reproductive biology. Affiliated societies include the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology, the Society for Male Reproduction and Urology, the Society for Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility, the Society of Reproductive Surgeons and the Society of Reproductive Biologists and Technologists.
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