title: Challenging atrophied perspectives on postmenopausal dyspareunia: a systematic description and synthesis of clinical pain characteristics.
abstract: This study investigated the clinical attributes of postmenopausal dyspareunia. The authors obtained a systematic description of pain symptomatology from 182 postmenopausal dyspareunia sufferers using a structured interview, quantitative sensory testing, a standardized pain measure, and gynecological examination. The authors conducted a cluster analysis to examine whether sufferers could be categorized using clinical pain and gynecological factors. The authors delineated 6 subgroups, each exhibiting distinct combinations of pain and gynecological characteristics. The results support the hypothesis that, similarly to premenopausal dyspareunia, postmenopausal dyspareunia is a heterogeneous condition.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
authors.forename: Alina
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kao
authors.forename: Yitzchak M
authors.initials: YM
authors.lastname: Binik
authors.forename: Rhonda
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Amsel
authors.forename: Deana
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Funaro
authors.forename: Nathalie
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Leroux
authors.forename: Samir
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Khalifé
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001284:Atrophy; D004414:Dyspareunia / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D058869:Gynecological Examination / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D059408:Pain Management; D010147:Pain Measurement; D010808:Physical Examination; D017698:Postmenopause; D014621:Vagina / Q000473:pathology*; D016387:Women's Health