Objective:

Pelvic organ prolapse is a commonly encountered socioeconomical condition in the perimenopausal period that women hesitate to complain about to their physicians. Evaluation of patients who have risk factors for this condition is crucial for both diagnosis and treatment. This study aimed to investigate the risk factors of pelvic organ prolapse in perimenopausal women.

Material and Methods:

We included 1860 perimenopausal women admitted to the gynecology outpatient clinics between July and December 2014. The age, height, weight, educational status, parity, delivery mode, birthweight, presence of pelvic organ prolapse, and the POP-Q patient score were retrospectively recorded.

Results:

Pelvic organ prolapse was observed in 1232 (66.2%) patients at different stages and in 487 (26.2%) of patients at stage ≥2. Patients with pelvic organ prolapse were elder (p<0.001), more overweight (p<0.001), had higher parity (p=0.036), had vaginal delivery more frequently (p=0.022), and also had overweight babies more frequently (p<0.001). The body mass index (BMI) (OR, 4.1; p<0.001), vaginal delivery (OR, 3.6; p=0.003), and birthweight (OR, 1.3; p<0.001) were found to be independent predictors for pelvic organ prolapse. Moreover, patients at stage ≥2 were more overweight (p<0.001), had vaginal delivery more frequently (p=0.002), and had overweight babies more frequently (p<0.001). The BMI (OR, 7.6; p<0.001) and maximum birthweight (OR 3.1, p<0.001) were independent predictors for patients with stage ≥2 pelvic organ prolapse.

Conclusion:

BMI, vaginal delivery, and birth weight were found to be the risk factors for pelvic organ prolapse. Also, BMI and birth weight were the risk factors for stage ≥2 prolapse. We concluded that weight loss with lifestyle modifications and appropriate delivery management are critical for pelvic organ prolapse.

Keywords: pelvic organ prolapse, POP-Q, risk factors