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Does obesity change the perception of pelvic organ prolapse?

  • General Gynecology
  • Published:
Archives of Gynecology and Obstetrics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Introduction and hypothesis

There is a complex relationship between obesity and pelvic organ prolapse. The objective of our study was to evaluate whether body mass index (BMI) changes the relationship between signs and symptoms of prolapse.

Methods

This was a retrospective observational study based on datasets of women seen in a tertiary urogynecological center with symptoms of pelvic floor and lower urinary tract dysfunction between April 2012 and October 2015. Patients underwent a structured interview, clinical examination (based on the POP-Q) and 4D transperineal ultrasound (TPUS). Offline assessment of sonographic organ descent was undertaken later, blinded to all patient data.

Results

Weight and BMI affect the relationship between symptoms and signs of prolapse. This effect is statistically highly significant. The more obese a patient is, the less likely she is to notice a given degree of objective prolapse, regardless of whether it is diagnosed clinically or on imaging.

Conclusions

In this retrospective study, we found a highly significant effect of weight and BMI on prolapse perception in the sense that obesity seems to mask prolapse while a low BMI increases the likelihood of a given degree of prolapse being noticed by the patient.

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Abbreviations

POP:

Pelvic organ prolapse

TPUS:

Trans perineal ultrasound

BMI:

Body mass index

POP-Q:

Pelvic organ prolapse quantification system

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank A/Prof Clara shek and Dr Kristy Robledo for their help / advice with statistical analysis.

Funding

This study was unfunded.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Sydney Medical School Nepean, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia

    Talia Friedman & Hans Peter Dietz

  2. Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, Tel Aviv University, Ramat Gan, Israel

    Talia Friedman

Authors
  1. Talia Friedman
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  2. Hans Peter Dietz
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Contributions

TF: Data acquisition, manuscript writing, data entry, data analysis, final approval. HPD: responsible for study conception and design, drafting the article and revising it critically for important intellectual content.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Talia Friedman.

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Conflict of interest

HP Dietz has received lecture fees and travel support from GE Medical and Mindray. T Friedman has no conflict of interest to declare.

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Friedman, T., Dietz, H.P. Does obesity change the perception of pelvic organ prolapse?. Arch Gynecol Obstet 305, 1491–1495 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00404-022-06430-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00404-022-06430-6

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