INTRODUCTION: The clinical features of interstitial cystitis/ bladder pain syndrome (IC/BPS) are similar to those of chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CP/CPPS).
However, no studies have directly compared the characteristics of these syndromes in men and women.
METHODS: The Multidisciplinary Approach to the Study of Chronic Pelvic Pain (MAPP) research network recruited 191 men and 233 women with IC/BPS or CP/CPPS. Baseline data included demographics, the Interstitial Cystitis Symptom Index (ICSI) and Problem Index (ICPI), the Genitourinary Pain Index (GUPI), the American Urological Association Symptom Index (AUASI), Likert scales to assess urinary urgency, frequency, pain and overall symptom severity, and a single question about the most bothersome pelvic symptom.
RESULTS: After adjustment for age, income and symptom duration, measures of pain severity were similar across genders. Mean scores for the ICSI, ICPI and AUASI were significantly higher in women than men, reflecting more bladder-focused symptoms in women. The most bothersome single symptom in both men and women was pain in the pubic/bladder area (34% of men, 58% of women). The characteristics of the men and women in the MAPP cohort were similar to those reported in other research cohorts of IC/BPS and CP/CPPS.
CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicate that pain severity is similar in both sexes, and that bladder-focused symptoms (urgency, suprapubic pain, frequency) are more common in women. However, a substantial proportion of men also report these types of bladder symptoms.
Written by:
Clemens JQ, Clauw DJ, Kreder K, Krieger JN, Kusek JW, Lai HH, Rodriguez L, Williams DA, Hou X, Stephens A, Landis JR. Are you the author?
University of Michigan Medical Center; University of Iowa; University of Washington; NIDDK; Washington University in St. Louis; University of California Los Angeles; University of Pennsylvania.
Reference: J Urol. 2014 Nov 13. pii: S0022-5347(14)04861-7.
doi: 10.1016/j.juro.2014.11.016
PubMed Abstract
PMID: 25463989