20.500.12556/DiRROS-30050 Effect of oral contraceptive use in relation to fertile years on the risk of endometriosis in women with primary infertility a ten-year single-centre retrospective analysis Background and Objectives: Oral contraceptives (OCs) are usually used to treat endometriosis; however, the evidence is inconsistent about whether OC use in the past, when given to asymptomatic women, is protective against the development of future disease. We aimed to assess the relationship between the use of OCs and the likelihood of discovering endometriosis, considering the length of time under OCs during their fertile age. Materials and Methods: This was a monocentric retrospective cohort study in a tertiary-care University Hospital (Department of Human Reproduction, Division of Gynaecology and Obstetrics, University Medical Centre Ljubljana, Slovenia) carried out from January 2012 to December 2022. Reproductive-aged women scheduled for laparoscopic surgery for primary infertility and subsequent histopathological diagnosis of endometriosis were compared to women without an endometriosis diagnosis. They were classified based on the ratio of years of OC use to fertile years in four subgroups: never, <25%, between 25 and 50%, and >50. Results: In total, 1923 women (390 with and 1533 without endometriosis) were included. Previous OC use was higher in those with endometriosis than controls (72.31% vs. 58.64%; p = 0.001). Overall, previous OC usage was not related to histopathological diagnosis of endometriosis (aOR 1.06 [95% CI 0.87–1.29]). Women who used OCs for less than 25% of their fertile age had reduced risk of rASRM stage III endometriosis (aOR 0.50 [95% CI 0.26–0.95]; p = 0.036) or superficial implants (aOR 0.88 [95% CI 0.58–0.95]; p = 0.040). No significant results were retrieved for other rASRM stages. Using OCs for <25%, between 25 and 50%, or >50% of fertile age did not increase the risk of developing superficial endometriosis, endometriomas, or DIE. Conclusions: When OCs are used at least once, histological diagnoses of endometriosis are not increased. A protective effect of OCs when used for less than 25% of fertile age on superficial implants may be present. Prospective research is needed to corroborate the findings due to constraints related to the study’s limitations endometriosis oral contraceptives staging endometrioma deep infiltrating endometriosis infertility true false true Angleški jezik Ni določen Neznano 2026-06-12 12:26:29 2026-06-12 12:26:29 2026-06-13 03:52:14 0000-00-00 00:00:00 2024 0 0 Nasl. z nasl. zaslona; Opis vira z dne 17. 6. 2024; Str. 1-9 Vol. 60 [iss.] 6 2024 0000-00-00 Zaloznikova Objavljeno NiDoloceno 0000-00-00 0000-00-00 0000-00-00 61 1648-9144 10.3390/medicina60060959 199138051 RAZ_Salamun_Vesna_2024.pdf RAZ_Salamun_Vesna_2024.pdf 1 805155AFA45D071F48726D2CAA0FD733 20f15ef14a94bd33a2840d5b12e44c5c95c4757eeabcb7068daf18c078406b13 4a27f50b-6649-11f1-aebd-001a4af901a5 https://dirros.openscience.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=45321 https://www.mdpi.com/1648-9144/60/6/959 1 2dcc33d4-6649-11f1-aebd-001a4af901a5 https://dirros.openscience.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=45320 Univerzitetni klinični center Ljubljana 0 0 0