In- and exclusion criteria
Full length original articles meeting the following criteria were
included:
- Including patients with suspected endometriosis corroborated by
physical examination and imaging techniques and/or proven by
laparoscopy;
- Using a validated multi-item scale or structured diagnostic interview
for assessment of depressive symptoms and/or anxiety, or a registered
diagnosis of depression or anxiety disorder (DSM or ICD code)*.
- Reporting an association between endometriosis and depression and/or
anxiety;
- Peer reviewed journal articles published in English.
Animal studies, reviews, abstracts and expert opinions were excluded.
*DSM or ICD codes for depression or anxiety disorder are given by a
professional and therefore most likely (in the past) followed by a
structured diagnostic interview.
Literature searchA systematic literature search was performed in PubMed, Embase,
PsychInfo and Web of Science until the 16th of June
2020. All studies that were published by that date were included. The
detailed query is listed in the appendix [S1 ]. Search terms
used were related to endometriosis, depression and anxiety. First,
duplicates were removed. Three reviewers [EB, JM and MP]
independently reviewed titles and abstracts and selected articles were
reviewed on full text. Disagreements were handled by discussion and a
third opinion [LV].Risk of bias assessment
Assessing the risk of bias, the Newcastle – Ottawa quality assessment
scale for cohort studies and case control studies was used [24] as
advised by The Cochrane Reviewers’ Handbook [25]. In studies not
including a control group, the checklist for reporting case series as
published by Kempen (2011), was used [26].