Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Sep;306(3):779-784.
doi: 10.1007/s00404-022-06510-7. Epub 2022 Mar 19.

Pelvic organ prolapse and anal incontinence in women: screening with a validated epidemiology survey

Martina G Gabra  1 , Katelyn M Tessier  2 , Cynthia S Fok  3 , Nissrine Nakib  3 , Makinna C Oestreich  4 , John Fischer  5
Affiliations

Pelvic organ prolapse and anal incontinence in women: screening with a validated epidemiology survey

Martina G Gabra et al. Arch Gynecol Obstet. 2022 Sep.

Abstract

Purpose: The primary objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of pelvic organ prolapse (POP) and anal incontinence (AI) in a Minnesota population using the Epidemiology of Prolapse and Incontinence Questionnaire (EPIQ). The secondary objective of this study was to determine the association of POP and AI with parity, age, smoking status, body mass index (BMI), and co-morbidities.

Methods: Women ≥ 18 years old attending the 2018 Minnesota State Fair were asked to fill out a web-based version of the EPIQ. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to investigate the association of POP and AI with the variables of interest.

Results: A total of 1426 women were included in the analysis. There was a 4.9% prevalence of POP and 14.9% prevalence of AI. POP was significantly associated with parity and higher BMI (p < 0.01 and p = 0.02, respectively). In this cohort, POP was not associated with older age, smoking, or presence of co-morbid conditions. Anal incontinence was associated with older age (p < 0.01), smoking status (p = 0.01), and presence of co-morbid conditions (p = 0.01) but was not associated with parity or higher BMI.

Conclusion: POP and AI were associated with some, but not all, of the variables tested, which differs from prior studies. In addition, the prevalence of POP and AI were different than rates reported in similar studies. This may suggest regional differences in prevalence of POP and AI.

Keywords: Anal incontinence; Epidemiology of Prolapse and Incontinence Questionnaire; Fecal incontinence; Flatal incontinence; Pelvic organ prolapse.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

References

    1. Projected age groups and sex composition of the population: main projections series for the United States, 2017–2060 (2017).
    1. Wu JM, Kawasaki A, Hundley AF, Dieter AA, Myers ER, Sung VW (2011) Predicting the number of women who will undergo incontinence and prolapse surgery, 2010 to 2050. Am J Obstet Gynecol 205(3):230.e1–5. 10.1016/j.ajog.2011.03.046 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Bharucha AE, Dunivan G, Goode PS et al. (2015) Epidemiology, pathophysiology, and classification of fecal incontinence: state of the science summary for the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) workshop. Am J Gastroenterol 110(1):127–136. 10.1038/ajg.2014.396 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Barber MD, Maher C (2013) Epidemiology and outcome assessment of pelvic organ prolapse. Int Urogynecol J 24(11):1783–1790. 10.1007/s00192-013-2169-9 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Barber MD, Kuchibhatla MN, Pieper CF, Bump RC (2001) Psychometric evaluation of 2 comprehensive condition-specific quality of life instruments for women with pelvic floor disorders. Am J Obstet Gynecol 185(6):1388–1395. 10.1067/mob.2001.118659 - DOI - PubMed

Publication types