Background: Pelvic organ prolapse (POP) is a gynecological condition resulting from pelvic floor dysfunction in women. The objective of this study is to estimate “the prevalence of pelvic organ prolapse” associated factors, duration and impact on women's quality of life in rural Pakistan. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted with a three stage random sampling strategy.Three health centers were selected and selected Lady Health Workers from each health center interviewed a random sample of women in their households. The interview used a structured questionnaire to collect symptom data. Female gynaecologists then conducted a clinical examination at the local health centres on women who reported symptoms of prolapse to verify and grade pelvic organ prolapse using Baden-Walker classification system. Results : Among the 5064 women interviewed (95.8% response rate), 521 women had clinically confirmed POP, a prevalence of 10.3% (95% CI 9-11%). Among women with POP 37.8% had grade III or IV prolapse. Women with four or more children had the highest proportion of pelvic organ prolapse (75%) followed by women aged 36-40 years (25%).Among women with POP, 60.8% reported their quality of life as greatly or moderately affected; 44.3% had it for more than 5 years; and 78.7% never consulted a doctor. Conclusions : Pelvic organ prolapse is highly prevalent in rural Pakistan, impacts on women’s everyday lives and remains mainly untreated. Measures should be taken to provide health care services to reduce this burden of disease among women. Keywords Community-based; Pelvic organ prolapse; Prevalence; Quality of life; Pakistan

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Posted 31 Dec, 2019
On 23 Jan, 2020
On 26 Dec, 2019
On 25 Dec, 2019
On 25 Dec, 2019
On 04 Dec, 2019
Received 03 Dec, 2019
Received 28 Jul, 2019
Invitations sent on 26 Jul, 2019
On 26 Jul, 2019
On 26 Jul, 2019
On 24 Jul, 2019
On 23 Jul, 2019
On 19 Jul, 2019
Posted 31 Dec, 2019
On 23 Jan, 2020
On 26 Dec, 2019
On 25 Dec, 2019
On 25 Dec, 2019
On 04 Dec, 2019
Received 03 Dec, 2019
Received 28 Jul, 2019
Invitations sent on 26 Jul, 2019
On 26 Jul, 2019
On 26 Jul, 2019
On 24 Jul, 2019
On 23 Jul, 2019
On 19 Jul, 2019
Background: Pelvic organ prolapse (POP) is a gynecological condition resulting from pelvic floor dysfunction in women. The objective of this study is to estimate “the prevalence of pelvic organ prolapse” associated factors, duration and impact on women's quality of life in rural Pakistan. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted with a three stage random sampling strategy.Three health centers were selected and selected Lady Health Workers from each health center interviewed a random sample of women in their households. The interview used a structured questionnaire to collect symptom data. Female gynaecologists then conducted a clinical examination at the local health centres on women who reported symptoms of prolapse to verify and grade pelvic organ prolapse using Baden-Walker classification system. Results : Among the 5064 women interviewed (95.8% response rate), 521 women had clinically confirmed POP, a prevalence of 10.3% (95% CI 9-11%). Among women with POP 37.8% had grade III or IV prolapse. Women with four or more children had the highest proportion of pelvic organ prolapse (75%) followed by women aged 36-40 years (25%).Among women with POP, 60.8% reported their quality of life as greatly or moderately affected; 44.3% had it for more than 5 years; and 78.7% never consulted a doctor. Conclusions : Pelvic organ prolapse is highly prevalent in rural Pakistan, impacts on women’s everyday lives and remains mainly untreated. Measures should be taken to provide health care services to reduce this burden of disease among women. Keywords Community-based; Pelvic organ prolapse; Prevalence; Quality of life; Pakistan

Figure 1
This is a list of supplementary files associated with this preprint. Click to download.
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