Introduction: Endometriosis is the presence of endometrial cells growing outside the uterus and is characterized by excessive pain especially during the menstrual period. It is largely prevalent in women within the reproductive age of 25 and 35 but has been shown to affect women of all ages and ethnic backgrounds.  In Nigeria, it is alleged that 30-40% of women suffer from endometriosis. Multiple studies have been carried out within different periods to ascertain the rise of endometriosis in Nigeria. During a study at a centre in Ibadan, Nigeria, only 85 cases of endometriosis were diagnosed in the period of 1^st January 1997 to 1^st October 2018. The mean age affected was 35 years (ranging from 18 to 52 years). The age groups most affected were between 30-39 years (47.1%) and 20-29 years (30.6%). The ovary (58.8%) was found to be affected more than the umbilicus (11.9%) and fallopian tubes (9.4%).

Aim: To describe the prevalence and clinical presentation of endometriosis in Nigeria.

Materials and methods: Literature from PubMed, Google Scholar and Medline were used. Found sources having the words “endometriosis” and “Nigeria”. From this search, a total of 42 papers were found but only 7 papers were relevant to the criteria of this review which is a laparoscopic diagnosis of endometriosis done in Nigeria and identifying clinical peculiarities associated with the occurrence of endometriosis.

Results: According to the materials gathered, out of 239 women analysed in the year 2008 – 2010 at a centre in Ibadan, Nigeria, 48.1% (115 women) were diagnosed with endometriosis and when 490 infertile women were examined in 2006 -2008 Nnewi, Nigeria, endometriosis was found in 4.9% (24 infertile women). It was also concluded that endometriosis was more common among women experiencing dysmenorrhea and pelvic pain. A study done among the Igbos in Nigeria states that 90.8% of cases were not diagnosed until an operation was carried out. Another study shows that women in Nigeria, that are < 35years with a normal BMI of 18.5-24.9 has an increased probability of endometriosis than women >35 years. Out of 113 women diagnosed with endometriosis at a fertility clinic in Nigeria, primary infertility was more prevalent than secondary infertility by 62%.  Among Nigerian patients treated within 5 years, only 23 patients (between 24 and 45 years) were diagnosed and treated for Thoracic Endometriosis Syndrome (TES), and it was found that severe dysmenorrhea was significant in 91.3% of the cases.

Conclusions. Although these studies are instrumental in analysing the prevalence of endometriosis in Nigeria, this result cannot be said to be encompassing Nigeria totally because they are limited to the geographical area where the study was held.  This research does show that Nigerian women are significantly affected, with dysmenorrhea, severe pelvic pain and primary infertility being clinically relevant for proper diagnosis. Regular gynaecological checks should be normalized, especially for women <35 years and efforts should be made to increase awareness among the public, researchers and clinicians. Differential diagnosis should include endometriosis which may present as TES.