There are several ideas proposed as to what causes endometriosis, but none regarded as scientifically certain. Contamination is one of the causes under study, particularly with regard to endometriosis being a result of immune system failures. A poorly understood disease, endometriosis affects an estimated 5.5 million women in the U.S. and Canada and appears to be increasing. Particularly troubling is the fact that it is showing up more than ever before in very young women. Given the poor quality of data, however, it is difficult to document long term trends or determine the precise number of women afflicted with the disease.
Many cases go unreported and accurate, confirmed diagnosis requires an invasive surgical procedure.
Prior to 1921, there were only twenty reports of the disease in the worldwide medical literature . As we describe in Chapter 10 of Our Stolen Future , the medical causes of endometriosis are shrouded in uncertainty. A few studies completed by the time we published OSF pointed toward contamination. Since then a small number of studies have been reported consistent with this trend. None contradict it.