Transactions of the Sixty-Seventh Annual Meeting of the Pacific Coast Obstetrical and Gynecological SocietyThe demographics of pelvic floor disorders: Current observations and future projections☆,☆☆
Section snippets
Material and methods
We undertook a population-based study to investigate the age of women seeking care for symptomatic pelvic floor disorders and how age affected the demand for service and distribution of disorders within this population. We also created a coherent model from which to make projections of future demand for care of female pelvic floor disorders.
This research was undertaken within the Kaiser Permanente Health Care Program in Southern California. Demographic data regarding the age and gender of
Results
Two thousand seventy women were included in the study. Ages ranged from 30 to 89 years with a normal distribution around a median age of 61 years (Fig 1). There were 149,000 women in the at-risk population. The age ranges of the at-risk population were similar to the age distribution of the female population of the United States with a median age of 44 years (Figs 2 and 3).
Comment
Many physicians have made the casual observation that an increasing number of women are seeking care for problems related to pelvic floor dysfunction. As there has been no means of validating this observation, policy makers and program directors have been left to speculate without valid data. The observations, modeling, and projections reported here will allow those responsible for policy decisions to anticipate more accurately the demands for care of pelvic floor disorders over the next
References (10)
- et al.
Epidemiology and natural history of pelvic floor dysfunction
Obstet Gynecol Clin North Am
(1998) - et al.
Economic costs of urinary incontinence in 1995
Urology
(1998) - et al.
Female stress urinary incontinence due to intrinsic sphincteric deficiency: recognition and management
J Urol
(1996) - et al.
Fecal incontinence in women with urinary incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse
Obstet Gynecol
(1997) - et al.
Economic costs of urinary incontinence in 1995
Urology
(1998)
Cited by (0)
- ☆
Reprint requests: Karl M. Luber, MD, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 4647 Zion Ave, San Diego, CA 92120. E-mail: [email protected] .
- ☆☆
Editors ’ note: This manuscript was revised after these discussions were presented.