"Mental Health Conditions May Prompt Some Women To Have Ovaries Removed Unnecessarily" - Linda Carroll
Certain psychiatric conditions may prompt some women to choose to have their ovaries removed even when there is no medical justification for it, a new study suggests. After analyzing their data, the researchers found that pre-existing mood disorders, anxiety disorders and somatoform disorders were associated with an increased risk of women choosing to have both ovaries removed. The best way to avoid unnecessary oophorectomies is through “patient and physician education,” said Konstantin Zakashansky, MD, associate professor of obstetrics, gynecology, and reproductive science at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, who was not involved in the study. He added, “While the new study is important in identifying additional risk factors for oophorectomy, newer data might have yielded somewhat different findings because surgical practice has changed over the last several decades.”
— Konstantin Zakashansky, MD, Associate Professor, Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Science, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Additional coverage: Physician's Weekly