To the Editor:
We read with interest the recent American Journal of Reproductive Immunology article, “Natural Products Targeting Oxidative Stress–Inflammation Crosstalk in Endometriosis” [1]. The report addresses a clinically important problem at the boundary of specialty care, patient experience, and mental health. Its contribution would be strengthened by separating a research signal from the patient‐level decisions that may follow.
Patient‐reported outcome systems provide standardized measurement of domains such as pain interference, sleep, mood, and function [2]; endometriosis‐specific evaluation should additionally address sexual function, treatment burden, and individual fertility priorities.
For future work, we suggest prespecifying core patient‐reported pain and function outcomes; depression and anxiety, assessed using a validated instrument such as the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale [3]; sleep and sexual function; fertility goals; analgesic and hormonal treatment; adverse effects; minimum clinically important differences; and follow‐up long enough to assess durability. These elements should be reported at each assessment time point and, when applicable, by treatment group. Investigators should also state who reviews a concerning result, the expected response time, and how referral or follow‐up completion is verified.
These additions would not turn a specialty study into a psychiatric protocol. They would preserve the article's contribution while preventing screening from being mistaken for diagnosis and clarifying whether a measured change improves lived experience, function, or safety. Until these data are available, the finding is best used to refine research and shared clinical judgment, not as a stand‐alone patient‐level conclusion.
Funding
No external funding was received for this work.
Conflicts of Interest
The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
Ethics Statement
Not applicable. This correspondence reports no new research involving human participants or animals.
Generative AI Statement
Generative AI (OpenAI ChatGPT) assisted literature triage, language drafting, translation, and document formatting. It was not used to generate or analyze research data or in any research method; this correspondence reports no original research. Both authors checked the cited sources, critically revised the intellectual content, approved the final manuscript, and accept full responsibility.
Article discussed: Natural Products Targeting Oxidative Stress–Inflammation Crosstalk in Endometriosis (https://doi.org/10.1111/aji.70293)
Data Availability Statement
No new data were created or analyzed for this correspondence.
References
- 1. Mhatre D., Jadhav T., Shirodkar S., et al., “Natural Products Targeting Oxidative Stress–Inflammation Crosstalk in Endometriosis,” American Journal of Reproductive Immunology 96 (2026): e70293, 10.1111/aji.70293. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
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Associated Data
This section collects any data citations, data availability statements, or supplementary materials included in this article.
Data Availability Statement
No new data were created or analyzed for this correspondence.