The New Indian Journal of OBGYN 3(1)

Bother and quality of life among symptomatic versus asymptomatic women with stage I - III pelvic organ prolapse

Rashmi Kashyap , Amarjeet Singh, Vanita Jain

ABSTRACT

Objective: To compare the bother and quality of life in symptomatic and asymptomatic patients with stage I - III pelvic organ prolapse (POP). Methods: A descriptive study was conducted between August 2010 and October 2011, among women with stage I - III POP who attended the Gynaecology outpatient department at the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh, India. Parous women aged 20 - 70 years who were diagnosed as POP stage I - III based upon POP-Q staging were included in the present study. Assessment of symptoms, bother and impact on the quality of life was done. Comparative analysis of various parameters was done after categorization into two groups (Symptomatic; Group A, Asymptomatic; Group B). Results: The mean age was 45.2 ± 12.0 years in Group A and 50.3 ±10.5 years in Group B (p=0.026). Assessment of bother suffered by the patients showed mean VAS score of 21.45±26.0 in symptomatic patients and 11.10±22.1 in asymptomatic patients (p = 0.03). However, no correlation was established between the severity of symptoms with increase in the stage of POP (r2 = 0.087). Women in both the groups experienced difficulty in performing day to day activities and also faced feeling of frustration and significant impact on emotional health. Conclusion: Pelvic organ prolapse has significant impact on suffering and quality of life. Functional symptoms cannot consistently be attributed to the stage of pelvic organ prolapse.