More Women Affected By Pelvic Floor Disorders, New Study

The March issue of Obstetrics & Gynecology came out with the result of an extensive study conducted on women and pelvic disorders.

A new study initiated by Kaiser Permanente, America’s leading integrated health plan found out that one third of all women suffer from one or more pelvic disorders. The symptoms included the tendency to urinate frequently, dropped pelvic organs and incontinence.

Women who had vaginal deliveries were found to be more prone to pelvic floor disorders than those who underwent Caesarean deliveries or those who never had deliveries at all.

A sample of 4000 women who were aged between 25 and 80 were taken for the study. The result showed that 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.

This growing statistics gives a warning sign that women should be given awareness on these topics and those who are having related problems should be encouraged to see a trained physician so as to restore the quality and functionality of their lives.

Source-Medindia
SUN/L