Health

If you are a woman with symptoms of urinary or stool incontinence, or if you can feel something bulging or "falling out" in the vaginal area, you have plenty of company. Pelvic floor disorders are common among U.S. women, particularly those of advanced age, those who have borne children, and women who are overweight or obese.

Just how prevalent these problems are became evident when 3,440 women aged 20 years or older responded to specific questions added to the 2005-2006 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) at the request of the Pelvic Floor Disorders Network (PFDN). The final group who completed the interview in their home and had a physical exam done in a mobile unit consisted of 1,961 women.

Results showed that overall:

• 23.7 percent of women had symptoms of at least one pelvic floor disorder; urinary incontinence was the most common.
• Symptoms increased with age—nearly 60 percent of women age 80 and older are affected.
• There is a significant association between childbirth and pelvic floor disorders, ranging from 12.8 percent in women who had never given birth to 32.4 percent in women who had three or more deliveries.
• Overweight and obese women were more likely than women of normal weight to have at least one pelvic floor disorder. No differences were found in prevalence with regard to racial/ethnic group.

This study concluded that pelvic floor disorders affect a substantial number of women and increase with age.

The authors feel that further research is needed to help understand, prevent, and treat these disorders. The burden placed on U.S. women and the health care system will become even more significant with the aging of our population.

For further information, refer to "Prevalence of Symptomatic Pelvic Floor Disorders in U.S. Women," Nygaard, I MD MS; Barber, M MD MHS; Burgio K PhD; Kenton, K MD MS; Meikle, S MD MSPH; Schaffer, J MD; Spino, C DSc; Whitehead, W PhD; Wu, J MD MPH; Brody, D MPH; Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), September 2008, Volume 300 (11).