Women with vulvovaginal or genital pain more commonly experience interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome (IC/BPS) and urinary tract infections. However, the relationship between genital pain and bladder health is lacking.
Women in the Prevention of Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms Consortium's RISE FOR HEALTH population-based study answered questions about bladder health globally, and across nine bladder health domains of holding, efficacy, social-occupation, physical activity, intimacy, travel, emotion, perception, and freedom. Bladder function was assessed across six indices including urinary frequency, sensation, continence, comfort, emptying, and dysbiosis (e.g., urinary tract infections). Participants were grouped by no pain beyond transitory events (i.e., minor headaches, toothaches, or sprains), nongenital-related pain only, and any genital pain using a validated pain diagram. Mean adjusted scores and indices were compared using general linear modelling.
Of 1,973 eligible women, 250 (12.7%) reported genital pain, 609 (30.9%) reported nongenital pain only, and 1,114 (56.5%) reported no pain. Women with any genital pain had lower (worse) adjusted mean scores across all bladder health scales (BHS; BHS global adjusted mean 47.5; 95% CI 40.8-54.1), compared with those with nongenital pain only (53.7; 95% CI 47.6-59.8), and no pain (59.3; 95% CI 53.3-65.4). Similarly, adjusted mean total Bladder Functional Index scores were lower for those with genital pain (63.1; 95% CI 58.4-67.9) compared with nongenital pain (72.1; 95% CI 67.7-76.5) and no pain (77.4; 95% CI 73.0-81.8).
Heightened awareness of the relationship between genital pain and bladder health should prompt clinicians caring for women with genital pain to assess bladder health and function.
International urogynecology journal. 2024 Jul 13 [Epub ahead of print]
Bernard L Harlow, Gerald McGwin, Siobhan Sutcliffe, Colleen M Fitzgerald, Jerry L Lowder, Diane K Newman, Melanie Meister, Deepa R Camenga, Ann Stapleton, Vanika Chary, Emily S Lukacz
Department of Epidemiology, Boston University School of Public Health, 715 Albany Street, Boston, MA, 02118, USA. ., Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA., Division of Public Health Sciences, Department of Surgery, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and the Alvin J. Siteman Cancer Center, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA., Division of Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Stritch School of Medicine, Loyola University Chicago, Maywood, IL, USA., Division of Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA., Division of Urology, Department of Surgery, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA., Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Kansas, Kansas City, KS, USA., Department of Pediatrics, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA., Division of Allergy & Infectious Disease, Department of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA., Division of Biostatistics, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA., Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences, UC San Diego School of Medicine, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.