Prevalence of, and risk factors for, symptomatic pelvic organ prolapse in Rural Bangladesh: a cross-sectional survey study.
INTRODUCTION AND HYPOTHESIS
The prevalence of symptomatic pelvic organ prolapse (POP), diagnosed by a pre-tested structured questionnaire, is unknown in Bangladesh. We investigated the prevalence of, and risk factors for, symptomatic POP in women in rural Bangladesh, recruited from the community.


METHODS
A cross-sectional survey of 787 women aged over 15 years was conducted in four villages in one district in rural Bangladesh. The prevalence of symptomatic POP and the risk factors associated with the condition was investigated, using Chi-squared and multivariate logistic regression.


RESULTS
The prevalence of symptomatic POP was 15.6 %. The mean age of participants was 40.1 (±9.0) years. Women aged 35-44 years (odds ratio [OR] 1.96, 95 % confidence interval [CI] 1.03-3.73) and ≥45 years (OR 2.95, 95 % CI 1.62-5.38) were more likely to have POP compared with women aged ≤35 years. Having POP was positively associated with women having ≥5 children (OR 4.34, 95 % CI 1.39-13.58), having chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD; OR 2.07, 95 % CI 1.02-4.21), and women having constipation (OR 3.54, 95 % CI 1.87-6.72). Women whose husband had >5 years of schooling were less likely to have POP (OR 0.37, 95 % CI 0.19-0.73) compared with women whose husband had no schooling.


CONCLUSIONS
Symptomatic POP affects a substantial proportion of women in rural Bangladesh and increases with age. Parity, COPD, constipation and husband's education are associated with POP, all of which have the potential to be modified. Thus, interventions targeting these risk factors to prevent the condition are urgently needed in Bangladesh.
['Akter|Farjana|F|', 'Gartoulla|Pragya|P|', 'Oldroyd|John|J|', 'Islam|Rakibul M|RM|']
D000328:Adult D000367:Age Factors D001459:Bangladesh D016009:Chi-Square Distribution D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies D005260:Female D006801:Humans D016015:Logistic Models D008875:Middle Aged D010298:Parity D056887:Pelvic Organ Prolapse D011247:Pregnancy D015995:Prevalence D012307:Risk Factors D012424:Rural Population D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
Prevalence Risk factors Pelvic organ prolapse Bangladesh