An epidemiologic study on symptomatic pelvic organ prolapse in obese Chinese women: a population-based study in China

The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence and risk factors of symptomatic pelvic organ prolapse in obese Chinese women.

We performed a secondary analysis of 3,105 obese women from an observational cross-sectional study conducted between February 2014 and March 2016 in Mainland China. The obesity standard in our study was the Chinese standard (body mass index ≥28). All the subjects were asked to complete a questionnaire which included age, job, parity, and so on. Symptomatic pelvic organ prolapse (POP) was characterized as being symptomatic and at stage II or higher. Multivariable logistic regression was used to assess the factors associated with symptomatic POP.

The prevalence of symptomatic POP was 15.84% in obese Chinese women, and there was a consistent increasing trend in the prevalence of POP with increasing age, ranging from 4.78% in women between 20 and 29 years of age to 28.21% in women aged 70 years or older (P<0.0001). Multivariate analysis shows that the independent risk factors were age, chronic cough (>3 weeks), and gynecological abnormalities. In addition, multiparity was not associated with symptomatic POP in multivariable analysis.

Symptomatic POP affects nearly 16% of obese women in People's Republic of China. The prevalence of symptomatic POP increases significantly with age.