THE PREVALENCE OF CHRONIC PELVIC PAIN IN WOMEN IN THE UNITED-KINGDOM - A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW

Objective To obtain a prevalence estimate for chronic pelvic pain in w omen in the United Kingdom by analysing published data. Design Systema tic review of published papers. Setting The general population or hosp itals in the United Kingdom. Population Women participating in relevan t community surveys or control women participating in hospital-based s tudies. Methods Papers were retrieved by systematically searching the databases MEDLINE, EMBASE and PsycLit, and by hand searching. Studies were included if they 1. were community-based and reported prevalence rates of chronic pelvic pain, dyspareunia, dysmenorrhoea, or abdominal pain, or 2. referred to a clinical population but reported prevalence rates in a disease-free control group. Main outcome measures Prevalen ce rates for chronic pelvic pain including any overlap with dyspareuni a, dysmenorrhoea and abdominal pain. Results No community-based study has been performed that provides an estimate of the prevalence of chro nic pelvic pain in the general UK population. A rate of 39% was report ed in women undergoing laparoscopy for sterilisation or investigation of infertility in the single study from the United Kingdom investigati ng chronic pelvic pain unrelated to menstruation or intercourse. Preva lence rates for dyspareunia, dysmenorrhoea, and abdominal pain found i n UK community-based studies were 8%, 45% to 97%, and 23% to 29%, resp ectively, but definitions used varied greatly. Conclusions Because chr onic pelvic pain can reduce the quality of life and general wellbeing, there is a need for a community-based study into the prevalence of ch ronic pelvic pain and its effect upon the lives of women in the UK.