Yes. Endometriosis is described in the research as a chronic inflammatory disease. And it may not stay in the pelvis. A 2024 review of 30 studies found higher levels of the inflammation signal IL-6 in the blood of people with endometriosis. It is also linked to migraine, heart disease and some autoimmune conditions.
What is endometriosis?
Endometriosis is a long-term condition in which tissue like the lining of the womb grows outside the womb. It affects 2 to 10% of women of reproductive age. It is the most common reason for long-lasting pelvic pain in younger women, and it is tied to trouble getting pregnant.
That alone is a lot to carry. But the research keeps finding threads that run past the pelvis, into the blood, the genes, the head, the gut and the heart, and those threads are what this article follows.
Is endometriosis an inflammatory condition?
Yes. A 2023 review put it plainly: endometriosis is "a benign, estrogen-dependent, chronic inflammatory disease." Benign means it is not cancer. Estrogen-dependent means the hormone estrogen feeds it.
Endometriosis is described in the research as a chronic inflammatory disease, and some of that inflammation shows up in the blood.From a 2024 meta-analysis in J Minim Invasive Gynecol
Inflammation is your body's alarm system. It sends out chemical messengers called cytokines. When their levels rise in body fluids, that is a sign that tissue is damaged or under attack. Interleukins, such as IL-6, are one family of these messengers.
The clearest signs show up in the fluid that bathes the pelvic organs. A 2026 meta-analysis (a study that pools the results of many studies) found much higher IL-6 in that fluid in people with endometriosis than in people without it. The same review found changes in several kinds of immune cells, including T cells, macrophages and natural killer cells.
Does the inflammation reach the rest of the body?
This is where it gets interesting. A 2024 meta-analysis gathered 30 studies that measured interleukins in the blood of people with untreated endometriosis. Three signals, IL-1Ra, IL-6 and IL-37, were higher than in people without the condition. One, IL-23, was a bit lower.
So the alarm is not sealed inside the pelvis. Some of it travels in the blood.
What that blood signal does is less clear. A 2019 review linked higher blood IL-6 and IL-8 to infertility tied to endometriosis, but not to pelvic pain. Its authors also warned that most of the evidence was poor quality and that results have been hard to repeat.
What other conditions are linked to endometriosis?
The strongest hint comes from the conditions that travel with it.
Pain and inflammation in your genes. A 2023 study compared the genes of 60,674 people with endometriosis and 701,926 without it. It found 42 regions of DNA tied to the condition. Endometriosis shared genetic links with 11 pain conditions, including migraine and back pain. It also shared links with inflammatory conditions such as asthma and osteoarthritis.
Migraine. Across 13 studies with 331,655 people, the odds of migraine were 2.25 times higher in people with endometriosis. Many of those studies were at high risk of bias, so the authors urge caution.
Heart and blood vessels. Six large studies followed 254,929 people over time. Endometriosis was linked to 1.5 times the risk of heart disease from narrowed arteries, and a higher risk of stroke-type disease too. Oddly, the one study that looked at deaths from heart disease found fewer, not more.
Bowel disease. In studies with a comparison group, 2 to 3.4% of people with endometriosis also had inflammatory bowel disease, compared with 0 to 1% of those without it. The two can look alike, which can delay a diagnosis.
Autoimmune conditions. A 2019 review of 26 studies linked endometriosis to lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, celiac disease, multiple sclerosis and others. But only 5 of the 26 studies were high quality. Of those, 4 found a clear link to at least one autoimmune disease.
None of these studies show that endometriosis leads to the other conditions. They may share roots instead. The genes point that way, but the work to prove it is still ahead.
Can an anti-inflammatory diet help endometriosis?
Food is where many people start. The research is thin. A 2024 meta-analysis pooled 11 randomized trials with 716 women, and while most reported less pain, most were also at moderate or high risk of bias, which means the results could easily lean in the hopeful direction. In the antioxidant supplement trials, period pain went down compared with a placebo, but long-lasting pelvic pain and pain during sex did not drop in a clear way. The trials at low risk of bias showed no clear benefit.
A 2022 review of 6 studies found that diets high in polyunsaturated fats, gluten-free diets and low-nickel diets were linked to less pain. Most of that evidence came from studies that were not randomized, so it may be biased.
What this means for you
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you plan to cut out whole food groups or take a new supplement; your pelvic pain changes or gets worse; you have pain or bleeding with bowel movements; your headaches change; or you have chest pain or shortness of breath.
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The bottom line
Start in the pelvis, where the fluid runs thick with IL-6. Then follow the trail: a trace of that signal in the blood, genes shared with migraine and asthma, and higher rates of heart and bowel disease. Each clue is imperfect. Together, they point one way. Endometriosis is an inflammatory condition, and its reach likely goes past the pelvis. That is worth saying out loud at your next appointment, with your whole list of symptoms in hand.
Common questions
Does endometriosis lead to inflammation in the whole body?
Endometriosis is a chronic inflammatory disease, and the inflammation is clearest in the pelvis. But a 2024 review of 30 studies found higher blood levels of IL-6 and two related signals in people with endometriosis. That suggests some of it reaches the rest of the body. What those blood levels mean for symptoms is still unclear.
What are the symptoms of endometriosis inflammation?
The main ones are pelvic pain and trouble getting pregnant. Beyond the pelvis, endometriosis is linked to migraine, bowel disease and some autoimmune conditions. These links come from studies that watch groups of people, so a symptom may or may not come from endometriosis. Keep a list and share it with your doctor.
Is there an anti-inflammatory diet for endometriosis?
Not one that is proven. In 11 randomized trials with 716 women, most diet and supplement trials reported less pain, but most had moderate or high risk of bias. A review of 6 studies linked diets high in polyunsaturated fats, gluten-free diets and low-nickel diets to less pain. Better trials are still needed.
Can a blood test show endometriosis inflammation?
Not yet. IL-6 is higher on average in people with endometriosis, and researchers think it may one day help with diagnosis. But a higher average across groups does not mean a single test can tell who has it.
Ask the Research Desk
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How this article was made
Researched and written from 10 peer-reviewed papers. Our automated check matched every claim against the exact words of its source, confirmed every paper exists in PubMed, and found none retracted. Checked October 30, 2026. Not individually reviewed by a doctor. Photos are illustrative; the people in them are not patients or readers.
Grades run Strong, Moderate, Emerging, Early and Not supported, and the grade decides the words we may use. How we grade evidence · Medical disclaimer
Sources
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