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RESEARCH PRODUCT

Self-esteem, quality of life, and physical activity in women with diagnosed endometriosis: a pilot study in an Italian sample

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Purpose. Endometriosis is a painful pathology impairing women's daily life. Several studies have shown that patients report low mental and physical quality of life, but no general evaluation of their self-esteem has been found. Studies concerning physical activity frequency present inconsistent results. Therefore, the current paper aims to compare life quality and selfesteem in women with endometriosis with the Italian normative data of the measures used. Methods. Overall, 36 women with diagnosed endometriosis treated in hospital completed a questionnaire detecting physical activity frequency, self-esteem, quality of life, and socioeconomic information. One sample t-test served to compare the data from this particular group with those of the general Italian population. Results. The participants displayed higher self-esteem (t = 5.65, p < 0.001) and a good quality of life (physical functioning: T = 3.64, p < 0.001), except for fatigue (t = -3.24, p = 0.003; significant difference); they declared feeling more fatigue than the general population. Only 4 women (11%) reported regular physical activity, while 16 were smokers (44.4%, mean: 10.6 cigarettes/day). Conclusions. Women with diagnosed endometriosis presented higher self-esteem and normal quality of life, even though their general health was lower and fatigue was higher than in the general Italian population. However, the sample involved females of low socioeconomic status and low education, characterized by poor communication skills and not open to externalize their feelings. Therefore, they might not have been honest in their answers. This potential bias, together with the small sample size, will be addressed in future research.