Women With Past Adverse Childhood Experiences More Likely To Have Ovaries Removed, Study Shows [HuffingtonPost.com]

Mayo Clinic researchers report that women who suffered adverse childhood experiences or abuse as an adult are 62 percent more likely to have their ovaries removed before age 46. These removals are for reasons other than the presence of ovarian cancer or a high genetic risk of developing cancer, says the new study published today in BMJ Open.

In previous studies examining the effects of removing the ovaries of younger women, the research team has demonstrated a myriad of health risks resulting from ovary removal.

“Our current findings suggest that physical, emotional or sexual abuse predisposes women to seek medical attention for multiple gynecological symptoms, such as abdominal pain or excessive bleeding,” says Liliana Gazzuola Rocca, M.D., a Mayo Clinic health sciences researcher and psychiatrist. “These gynecological symptoms may lead the women and their gynecologists to opt for removal of the reproductive organs at a young age ─ even when these organs are completely normal.”