Prevalence of adenomyosis in women with subfertility: systematic review and meta‐analysis

Objective: To determine the prevalence of adenomyosis in women with subfertility.

Methods: A systematic search was conducted in MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL Plus, Google Scholar, PsycINFO and Web of Science Core Collection from database inception to October 2022. The included studies evaluated the prevalence of adenomyosis in women with subfertility, with or without endometriosis and/or uterine fibroids. Secondary analyses were conducted to identify variation in the prevalence of isolated adenomyosis according to geographical location, diagnostic modality, diagnostic criteria, type of ultrasound, ultrasound features of adenomyosis and the use of assisted reproductive technology.

Results: Among 21 longitudinal studies evaluating 25 600 women, the overall pooled prevalence of isolated adenomyosis was 10% (95% CI, 6–15%) (I² = 99.1%; tau² = 0.12). The pooled prevalence was 1% (95% CI, 0–4%) for adenomyosis with concurrent fibroids (eight studies; I² = 95.8%; tau² = 0.03), 6% (95% CI, 3–11%) for adenomyosis with concurrent endometriosis (18 studies; I² = 98.6%; tau² = 0.12) and 7% (95% CI, 2–13%) for adenomyosis with concurrent endometriosis and/or fibroids (nine studies; I² = 98.3%; tau² = 0.09). The prevalence of isolated adenomyosis varied substantially according to geographical location, with Australia exhibiting the highest pooled prevalence of adenomyosis (19% (95% CI, 12–27%)), which was significantly higher compared with that in Asia (5% (95% CI, 1–12%)). The pooled prevalence of isolated adenomyosis diagnosed using a combination of direct and indirect ultrasound features was 11% (95% CI, 7–16%), whereas it was 0.45% (95% CI, 0–1%) in the study in which only an indirect feature was used as the diagnostic criterion.

Conclusion: One in 10 women with subfertility have a diagnosis of isolated adenomyosis. The prevalence of adenomyosis varies according to the presence of concurrent endometriosis and/or fibroids. © 2023 The Authors. Ultrasound in Obstetrics & Gynecology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology.