title: Female pelvic floor symptoms before and after bariatric surgery.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Obesity is a risk factor for female pelvic floor disorders. The study objective was to determine whether there was a difference in the subjective reporting of pelvic symptoms before and after bariatric surgery.
  
  
  METHODS
  This was a prospective cohort study of female patients that underwent bariatric surgery. Patients completed a demographic questionnaire, the Pelvic Floor Distress Inventory-20 (PFDI-20), and the Pelvic Floor Impact Questionnaire-7 (PFIQ-7) before surgery and at 6 and 12 months following surgery. Body mass index (BMI) was compared between time points using Student's t tests (P < 0.05 significant). Symptom and impact on quality of life prevalence were compared using McNemar's test and questionnaire scores were compared using the Wilcoxon matched pairs test (P < 0.025 significant).
  
  
  RESULTS
  At 12 months after surgery, 63 patients had completed the study. Even with significant weight loss (BMI, 43.7 kg/m(2) to BMI, 29 kg/m(2); P < 0.001), there was no significant difference in the prevalence of pelvic floor symptoms before and after surgery (94% to 81%, P = 0.2). Prevalence of pelvic floor symptom impact on quality of life did significantly decrease after surgery (56% to 30%; P = 0.004). Baseline PFDI-20 and PFIQ-7 scores were low; however, there was still a significant reduction in PFDI-20 and PFIQ-7 scores after surgery (P < 0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Prevalence of pelvic floor symptoms did not vary greatly after surgery; however, significant weight reduction did improve the degree of bother and quality of life related to these symptoms.
authors.affiliation: Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, St. Michael's Hospital, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. colleen.mcdermott@utoronto.ca
authors.forename: Colleen D
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: McDermott
authors.forename: Colin L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Terry
authors.forename: Samer G
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Mattar
authors.forename: Douglass S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Hale
mesh_terms: D050110:Bariatric Surgery / Q000379:methods* / Q000523:psychology; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009767:Obesity, Morbid / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology / Q000601:surgery*; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D059952:Pelvic Floor Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology / Q000601:surgery*; D011184:Postoperative Period; D057234:Preoperative Period; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011788:Quality of Life; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology