Study shows 1 in 3 women has pelvic floor disorder

A new study by Kaiser Permanente found that one-third of women suffer from one or more pelvic floor disorders, which include symptoms such as the frequent urge to urinate, dropped pelvic organs, and incontinence. The study, which consists of the broadest age range of participants to date, of which 80 percent of the 4,000 women studied had given birth. Of those 4,000 women, 25 percent suffered from anal incontinence, 15 percent from stress urinary incontinence, 13 percent from overactive bladder and six percent experienced pelvic organ prolapse, the dropping of pelvic organs.

“These conditions really affect women’s quality of life. Many women think this is just something they have to deal with as they age and that there isn’t anything they can do about it, but that’s not true,” said lead author Jean M. Lawrence, ScD, MPH, MSSA, a research scientist at Kaiser Permanente’s Department of Research and Evaluation in Southern California, where the study was conducted.

Published in the March issue of Obstetrics & Gynecology, the study surveyed women aged 25 to 84 in English and Spanish, making it the most extensive research on the subject to date across such a wide age range. Funded by the National Institutes of Health, the findings expand on research published two years ago by the same scientific team from Kaiser Permanente Southern California and the University of California, San Diego Medical Center that found that vaginal births double the rate of pelvic floor disorders compared to Cesarean deliveries and women who have never given birth.

“One of the myths surrounding pelvic floor disorder is that it affects only older women, but the truth is these conditions are extremely prevalent and extremely debilitating. But because the subject matter isn’t cocktail conversation, women feel isolated and don’t seek support and treatment,” said study co-author Karl Luber, M.D., a uro-gynecologist in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Kaiser Permanente San Diego Medical Center.

Dr. Luber’s advice for women with overactive bladders and urgency to urinate, involuntary leaking of urine during physical activity, anal incontinence or sagging pelvic organs is to get educated through internet research or books on the subject, and then find a physician who is trained in female pelvic medicine and reconstructive surgery to seek treatment.

“Among the available options for treatment for these common disorders are physical therapy to strengthen your pelvic floor muscles, devices that can be fit to support your vaginal walls, and surgery. Many of today’s surgeries are very non-invasive and can be done as an outpatient.” Luber said.

This research surveyed women in the general community, not just those seeking treatment for these conditions, and studied several different common pelvic floor disorders. Based on the findings of this study, clinicians have better clues about what else to ask women about when they have symptoms of one condition and what conditions may cluster together.

More than 15 million women in the U.S. have stress urinary incontinence and 16 million women have an overactive bladder. One in 10 women suffers from anal incontinence, with one in 15 experiencing moderate to severe symptoms. Over a woman’s lifetime, 11 percent are likely to have pelvic surgery for urinary incontinence and/or prolapse while 29 percent will have multiple surgeries for pelvic floor disorders, according to previous studies published in Neurological Urodynamics and Urology.

With statistics like these, women need to know how to best protect their health by seeking out solutions to maintain and/or restore their quality of life and full functionality. “Women need to know how to find and gain access to experts like those at Kaiser Permanente who are committed both in their research and in clinical practice to delivering outstanding continence care. That’s why consumer education and advocacy organizations like NAFC exist,” said Nancy Muller, executive director of the National Association for Continence (NAFC).

Source: Kaiser Permanente Division of Research

Related stories:

Urologists report success using robot-assisted surgery for urinary abnormality
Ashok Hemal, M.D., a urologic surgeon from Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, and colleagues have reported success using robot-assisted laparoscopic surgery to repair abnormal openings between the bladder and vagina known as fistulas. Reporting on their experience with seven patients, Hemal and colleagues have the world's largest known success with the procedure.
Gait may be associated with orgasmic ability
A new study found that trained sexologists could infer a woman's history of vaginal orgasm by observing the way she walks. The study is published in the September 2008 issue of The Journal of Sexual Medicine, the official journal of the International Society for Sexual Medicine and the International Society for the Study of Women's Sexual Health.
Austrian health researcher may face fraud, criminal charges
An Austrian government report charges that clinical trials conducted by researchers at a major medical school in Austria were riddled with procedural and ethical problems, the Nature Publishing Group said Monday.
Scientists identify possible cause of endometriosis
Endometriosis is a condition whereby patches of the inner lining of the womb appear in parts of the body other than the womb cavity. It can cause severe pain and affects approximately 15% of women of reproductive age. Endometriosis is also associated with infertility, with 50% of infertile women affected by the condition.
Common vaginal infection may increase risk of HIV infection
A common vaginal infection may make women more susceptible to contracting HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Public Health researchers have found.
Symptom screening plus a simple blood test improves early detection of ovarian cancer
Women's reports of persistent, recent-onset symptoms linked to ovarian cancer – abdominal or pelvic pain, difficulty eating or feeling full quickly and abdominal bloating – when combined with the CA125 blood test may improve the early detection of ovarian cancer by 20 percent, according to new findings by researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center published online in CANCER.

Sexually transmitted disease, urinary tract infections may be bad combination for birth defect
Chances of gastroschisis increase fourfold in babies whose moms have both infections
Women who reported having both a sexually transmitted disease (STD) and urinary tract infection (UTI) just before or during early pregnancy were four times more likely to have babies with gastroschisis—a severe birth defect in which infants are born with their intestines and other internal organs outside the abdomen, University of Utah researchers report in the online British Medical Journal.
Intimate examinations should not be performed without consent
Editorial: Informed consent and intimate examinations
Intimate examinations, performed by medical students on anaesthetised patients, are often carried out without adequate consent from patients, but this violates their basic human rights and should not be allowed, claims an editorial in the July issue of Student BMJ.

News discussion:

Medicine & Health news