Uterine disease in this case is an umbrella term for psychiatric disorders associated with women at the time and thought to be caused by disorders of the female reproductive system. You may be familiar with the term Hysteria, which was a closely related, if not the same, "disorder". In the case of "uterine disease" it was most likely mental illnesses associated with some condition that seemingly affected the uterus or ovaries or was "caused" by the uterus or ovaries, whether it be a physical condition or a mental condition.
I use the quote marks ("") around the words above and below, because these days we do not associate the cause(s) to be related to the female reproductive system, but would rather classify them under mental health, be it stress-related or depression or any other mental condition. There is no causative relationship between the reproductive system and mental health to our knowledge today, and mental health conditions are classified completely differently today compared to the 1800's.
The origins of this term stretch back a few thousand years to the ancient Greeks and Egyptians, who associated the uterus with episodes of psychiatric disorders. The Greek for the uterus is "Hystera", which gives us the origin of the word "hysteria". I believe Hippocrates, the "Father of Medicine" was the first person to use the term hysteria that we know of.
For evidence, I found an article from 1885 in what is now the British Journal of Psychiatry, but at the time was called the Journal of Mental Science:
- Wiglesworth J. On Uterine Disease and Insanity. Journal of Mental Science. 1885;30(132):509-531. doi:10.1192/S0368315X00230600
To quote the first paragraph:
The question of the relation between Uterine Disease and
Insanity is one which, though at different times it has attracted
much attention, is yet very far from being thoroughly elucidated.
On the one hand the subject is mixed up with so-called
"Hysterical Insanity," and on the other with "Amenorrhreal
Insanity," concerning the former of which it may be said that
but little evidence has been advanced to prove its dependence
upon distinct physical disease in the internal organs of reproduction; and, as regards the latter, it needs but little observation
in an asylum to show that in the majority of cases in which
Amenorrhrea is associated with insanity, the suppression of
the menses is merely a symptom, and in no sense the cause of
the disease.
In the article, the author attempts to link and expound upon the various reports of uterine disease and mental illnesses, particularly insanity. Physicians at the time were well aware of physical disorders of the female reproductive system (see Treatize on the Disorders of Women by Alexander Skene, D Appelton and Company, 1890), but were just working out that it wasn't actually these that were causing mental illness.
I also found a report from Mental Health Portland (PDF) that lists the causes of admission into the Oregon State Insane Asylum between 1894 and 1896, which includes "uterine disease", along with things like "puerperal trouble", which presumably would now be known as postpartum depression, or possibly postpartum psychosis.
These conditions would have been grouped in with Neurasthenia as a part of what was thought to be a general "weakness of the nerves", brought about by "exhaustion of the nervous system's energy". I believe that today these symptoms would describe depression and/or anxiety or similar mental health problems.
