title: The burden of health associated with benign gynecological disorders in low-resource settings.
abstract: Benign gynecological conditions impact on women's lives in a myriad of ways. Many of these conditions exert their burden on women's health because they remain undiagnosed, unacknowledged, or unreported for many years. Some of these conditions cause debilitating primary symptoms, especially of heavy menstrual bleeding, the lethargy of iron deficiency, and of persistent pelvic pain, with substantial impact on quality of life and ability to function on a day-to-day basis. The distressing quality of life impact of pelvic floor prolapse or of local vulval lesions should not be overlooked. Many also have secondary health consequences with adverse effects on fertility and reproductive outcome.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics, The Queen Elizabeth II Research Institute for Mothers and Infants, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
authors.forename: Kirsten I
authors.initials: KI
authors.lastname: Black
authors.forename: Ian S
authors.initials: IS
authors.lastname: Fraser
mesh_terms: D017281:Cost of Illness; D005260:Female; D005831:Genital Diseases, Female / Q000150:complications / Q000191:economics / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D007247:Infertility, Female / Q000209:etiology; D011788:Quality of Life; D060728:Reproductive Health; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors