The prevalence of chronic pelvic pain and irritable bowel syndrome in two university clinics

Very little is known about the prevalence of chronic pelvic pain or its comorbidity with irritable bowel syndrome. In order to obtain a prevalence estimate of chronic pelvic pain, a questionnaire was given to 651 women in two university clinics. Approximately 38% of the women had a lifetime prevalence of chronic or intermittent pelvic pain, and 12% reported current pain. Women with pelvic pain were also significantly more likely than women without pain to express other pain and aversive symptoms such as bowel problems, menstrual and sexual dysfunction, and to have higher psychological distress scores on the General Health Questionnaire. Of the 250 women who reported pelvic pain, 79% also met criteria for probable irritable bowel syndrome. Patients meeting criteria for both chronic pelvic pain and irritable bowel syndrome were more likely to have relatives with pain, meet caseness criteria for psychiatric diagnosis on the General Health Questionnaire and had a greater number of other types of pain and adverse symptoms when compared to women with chronic pelvic pain alone. Irritable bowel syndrome is an important differential diagnosis in the evaluation of chronic pelvic pain, and some women may have both disorders. Psychological evaluation is important in the assessment of pelvic pain patients.