ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Millions of women suffer from
unexplained vulvar pain so severe it can make intercourse, exercise and
even sitting unbearable.
New research now shows that women with this painful vaginal condition
known as vulvodynia are two to three times more likely to also have one
or more other chronic pain conditions, including irritable bowel
syndrome, fibromyalgia (musculoskeletal pain) and interstitial cystitis
(bladder pain).
These increasingly prevalent chronic pain conditions are known to be
underdiagnosed – and the new data sheds more light on how they may also
be related, according the University of Michigan Health System study
that was published in the American College of Obstetricians and
Gynecologists.
“Millions of people in the U.S. have chronic pain. This report stresses
the need to further study relationships between these types of
disorders to help understand common patterns and shared features,” says
lead author Barbara D. Reed, M.D., M.S.P.H., professor of family
medicine at the U-M Medical School.
“Chronic pain conditions like these can seriously hamper quality of
life and it’s imperative that we understand the commonality among them.
Results we see in any studies related to one of the conditions, such as
regarding etiology, physiology, or treatment, may be relevant to any of
others.”
Other studies show that chronic pain conditions are much more prevalent
than previously estimated, and there has been growing interest in
understanding the patterns of co-occurrence, Reed says.
“Women who have these disorders often see physicians but are not given a
diagnosis or are given an erroneous diagnosis and continue to suffer
without being treated properly,” Reed says. “Until their symptoms have a
name, it can be really discouraging because patients begin thinking
it’s all in their head.
“Chronic pain is starting to get a lot more attention, with more
research being done on all of these disorders, as well as combinations
of these disorders. I think the identification and treatment of these
conditions will continue to improve.”
Authors used data from the six-month follow-up survey of the Michigan
Woman to Woman study, a population-based cohort of 2,500 adult women in
southeast Michigan. An original study found
that more than 25 percent of surveyed women in the metro Detroit area
have experienced ongoing vulvar pain at some point in their lives but
only 2 percent ever sought treatment for their pain.
Additional Authors: Besides Reed, authors include Siobán D. Harlow,
Ph.D., Ananda Sen, Ph.D., Rayna M. Edwards, MPH, Di Chen, MPH, and Hope
K. Haefner, M.D.
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