{"id":10894,"date":"2025-12-15T18:56:52","date_gmt":"2025-12-15T10:56:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/?p=10894"},"modified":"2025-12-15T18:56:53","modified_gmt":"2025-12-15T10:56:53","slug":"depression-more-common-among-women-with-gynecological-disorders","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/depression-more-common-among-women-with-gynecological-disorders\/","title":{"rendered":"Depression more common among women with gynecological disorders"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Gynaecological disorders such as endometriosis, PCOS, and menstrual irregularities are common and often associated with pain and disruption to everyday life. They are typically diagnosed late, and many women experience both physical discomfort and mental distress for years before receiving treatment.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, a new register-based study from the University of Southern Denmark reveals that depression is more prevalent among women with one of the 24 most common gynaecological conditions\u2014and that mental health symptoms often appear long before a diagnosis is made.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2013 Many women live with psychological symptoms for years without anyone recognising that they might be linked to physical issues in the reproductive system, says Mette Bliddal, associate professor at the Research Unit for Gynaecology and Obstetrics, Department of Clinical Research, and lead author of the study.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

The study found that depression was 44 percent more common among women with a gynaecological disorder even before diagnosis. In the year leading up to and the year following diagnosis, the risk of depression was between 15 and 109 percent higher, depending on the specific condition.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Large-scale register study over 13 years<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The study draws on Danish health data for over 2.2 million women aged 15 to 49, covering the years 2005 to 2018. Of these, 265,891 women\u201412 percent\u2014had been diagnosed with at least one of 24 different reproductive disorders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The findings show a significantly increased prevalence of depression among women with a gynaecological diagnosis. This elevated risk begins well before diagnosis and peaks in the year following. The trend is evident both among women who had received a hospital-based diagnosis of depression and those who were prescribed antidepressant medication<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2013 The overall picture suggests that physical discomfort and psychological distress often go hand in hand\u2014and that it starts earlier than the healthcare system usually detects, says Mette Bliddal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most pronounced for painful conditions<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The greatest differences in depression rates were found among women with painful conditions, such as menstrual-related pain and endometriosis. In these cases, the risk of depression was nearly twice as high as for women without these diagnoses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2013 This suggests that many women may develop mental health symptoms in response to their physical discomfort, and that these reactions may be overlooked in a healthcare system that primarily focuses on physical symptoms, says Mette Bliddal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A need for more holistic care<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The study does not establish a causal link, but the clear overrepresentation of depression among women with gynaecological conditions points to a need for changes in clinical practice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The researchers call for a more integrated approach between somatic and psychiatric care, both during initial assessment and in follow-up. This applies especially to general practice and gynaecological care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2013 When so many women are affected by both physical and psychological burdens, we need to adopt a more holistic mindset. Systematic attention must be given to women\u2019s mental wellbeing when investigating gynaecological disorders, says Mette Bliddal.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Depression was 44 percent more common among women with a gynaecological disorder even before diagnosis. In the year leading up to and the year following diagnosis, the risk of depression was between 15 and 109 percent higher, depending on the specific condition.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":8827,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[19,848,20,2155,247,2039],"class_list":["post-10894","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsmakers","tag-health","tag-mental-health","tag-wellness","tag-women-empowerment","tag-womens-health","tag-womens-rights"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10894","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10894"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10894\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10895,"href":"https:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10894\/revisions\/10895"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8827"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10894"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10894"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10894"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}