Relationship between vulvodynia and chronic comorbid pain conditions.
OBJECTIVE
To estimate the relationship among the presence of vulvodynia, fibromyalgia, interstitial cystitis, and irritable bowel syndrome.


METHODS
Validated questionnaire-based screening tests for the four pain conditions were completed by women with and without vulvodynia who were participating in the Michigan Woman to Woman Health Study, a longitudinal population-based survey in southeastern Michigan. Weighted population-based estimates of the prevalence and characteristics of participants with these chronic comorbid pain conditions were calculated using regression analyses.


RESULTS
Of 1,940 women who completed the survey containing all four screening tests, 1,890 (97.4%) answered all screening questions and were included. The prevalences of the screening-based diagnoses ranged from 7.5% (95% confidence interval [CI] 6.2-9.0) for interstitial cystitis, 8.7% (95% CI 7.3-10.4) for vulvodynia, 9.4% (95% CI 8.1-11.0) for irritable bowel syndrome, to 11.8% (95% CI 10.1-13.7) for fibromyalgia with 27.1% screening positive for multiple conditions. The presence of vulvodynia was associated with the presence of each of the other comorbid pain conditions (P<.001, odds ratio 2.3-3.3). Demographic risk factors for each condition varied. Increasing age was not associated with greater numbers of comorbid conditions, and only low socioeconomic status was associated with having multiple comorbid conditions concurrently.


CONCLUSIONS
Chronic pain conditions are common, and a subgroup of women with vulvodynia is more likely than those without vulvodynia to have one or more of the three other chronic pain conditions evaluated.
Department of Family Medicine, Biostatistics, and Obstetrics and Gynecology and the School of Public Health, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA. barbr@umich.edu
Barbara D
BD
Reed
Siobán D
SD
Harlow
Ananda
A
Sen
Rayna M
RM
Edwards
Di
D
Chen
Hope K
HK
Haefner
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D059350:Chronic Pain / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015897:Comorbidity; D018856:Cystitis, Interstitial / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D005356:Fibromyalgia / Q000453:epidemiology; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D043183:Irritable Bowel Syndrome / Q000453:epidemiology; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008824:Michigan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D012923:Social Class; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D056650:Vulvodynia / Q000453:epidemiology*; D055815:Young Adult