Pelvic floor dysfunction in rural postpartum mothers in the United States: prevalence, severity, and psychosocial correlates

Prevalence of depression and anxiety in women with pelvic floor dysfunctions: A systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Female pelvic floor dysfunction (PFD) is a common condition affecting the emotional well-being of women.

OBJECTIVE

To estimate the prevalence of depressive and anxiety symptoms in women with PFD. SEARCH STRATEGY, SELECTION CRITERIA, DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Following prospective registration (PROSPERO CRD42022362095) we conducted a search of three electronic databases (PubMed, Web of Science and Scopus) from inception to April 2023 without language restriction to capture studies reporting the prevalence of depression/anxiety among women with PFD (chronic pelvic pain [CPP], urinary incontinence [UI], pelvic organ prolapse [POP], and/or fecal incontinence [FI]). Only studies with validated tools were included. Data extraction and study quality assessment were performed by two independent reviewers. Stratifying by type of PFD, rates of depression and anxiety were pooled using random effects model computing 95% confidence interval (CI) and assessing heterogeneity using the I2 statistic. Funnel plots were used to detect potential reporting biases and small-study effects.

MAIN RESULTS

The search yielded 767 articles, from which 54 studies containing 632 605 women were included. All the studies were high quality. The prevalence of depression was: CPP 26.8% (95% CI: 19.2-34.4, I2 = 98.7%; 12 studies, 4798 participants with 491 cases; Egger's P value = 0.009); UI 26.3% (95% CI: 19.4-33.2, I2 = 99.9%; 26 studies, a total of 346 114 participants with 25 050 cases; Egger's P value = 0.944); POP 34.9% (95% CI: 24.3-45.6, I2 = 68%; three studies, 297 participants with 104 cases; Egger's P value = 0.973); and FI 25.3% (95% CI: 0.68-49.9, I2 = 99.7%; six studies, 14 663 participants with 1773 cases; Egger's P value = 0.780). The prevalence of anxiety was: CPP 29.5% (95% CI: 16.3-42.7, I2 = 97.7%; nine studies, 2483 participants with 349 cases; Egger's P value = 0.001); UI 46.91% (95% CI: 39.1-54.6, I2 = 99.6%; 11 studies, 198 491 participants with 40 058 cases; Egger's P value = 0.337); and POP 28% (95% CI: 13.6-42.4, I2 = 89%; three studies with 355 participants with 90 cases; Egger's P value = 0.306).

CONCLUSION

The prevalence of mental health illness was variable in the different types of PFDs. This meta-analysis helps quantify the burden of depression and anxiety in PFD and will help inform the policies regarding screening of emotional well-being by healthcare professionals engaged in care of women with PFD.

Associations of pelvic floor dysfunction and postnatal mental health: a systematic review

BACKGROUND

Postpartum mental health conditions are common and can have devastating effects for both mother and infant. Adverse birth outcomes increase the risk of postnatal mental health conditions. Pelvic floor dysfunction (PFD) is a common adverse pregnancy outcome that may be a risk factor for postnatal mental health conditions. There are many studies reporting associations between PFD and postnatal mental health conditions, but no reports have synthesised the current literature as it relates to pregnancy and the postpartum period.

METHODS

A research librarian conducted systematic literature searches using terms concerning PFD, postnatal mental health conditions, and pregnancy. Searches were conducted within PubMed, Embase, CINAHL, Cochrane, and Scopus. Two reviewers independently rated each study for inclusion and study quality. No studies were excluded based on quality.

RESULTS

A total of 47 studies were included for review. Articles addressed sexual dysfunction (n = 11), incontinence (n = 21), perineal laceration (n = 13), pelvic organ prolapse (n = 2), and general pelvic floor symptoms (n = 2) and associations with postnatal mental health conditions. Two articles addressed more than one type of PFD. The majority (44 studies) reported associations between PFD and adverse postnatal mental health conditions.

DISCUSSION

Most studies included for review found consistent associations between PFD and adverse mental health conditions. Healthcare providers should screen for PFD and postnatal mental health conditions early in the postpartum period. Future research should investigate whether the treatment of PFD can modify the associations between PFD and postnatal mental health conditions.

The causal effect of educational attainment on stress urinary incontinence: a two-sample mendelian randomization study

BACKGROUND

Stress urinary incontinence (SUI) is characterized by involuntary urine leakage in response to increased abdominal pressure, such as coughing, laughing, or sneezing. It significantly affects women's quality of life and imposes a substantial disease burden. While pregnancy and childbirth have been previously identified as risk factors for SUI, educational attainment may also play a role. Therefore, this paper investigates the causal relationship between educational attainment and SUI using two-sample Mendelian randomization (TSMR) analysis, years of schooling (YOS), and college or university degree (CUD) as proxies.

METHODS

Summary statistics of YOS, CUD, and SUI were obtained from genome-wide association studies (GWAS), and TSMR analysis was applied to explore potential causal relationships between them. Causal effects were mainly estimated using the standard inverse variance weighting (IVW) method, and complementary and sensitivity analyses were also performed using multiple methods.

RESULTS

The results indicate that both YOS (OR = 0.994, 95% CI: 0.992-0.996; P = 7.764E-10) and CUD (OR = 0.987, 95% CI: 0.983-0.991; P = 1.217E-09) may have a negative causal effect on SUI.

CONCLUSIONS

Improving educational attainment may go some way towards reducing the risk of SUI. Therefore, it is important to increase efforts to improve the imbalance in educational development and safeguard women's health.