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How many women have pelvic pain?

Researchers are not sure exactly how many women in the United States have chronic pelvic pain.

Because it is often linked to other disorders, such as endometriosis or vulvodynia, chronic pelvic pain may be misdiagnosed as another condition, making it difficult to estimate reliable prevalence rates for pelvic pain.1 One study estimates that 1 in 7 women of childbearing age in the United States reported having pelvic pain that lasted 6 months or longer.2 

Citations

  1. Andrews, J., Yunker, A., Reynolds, W. S., Likis, F. E., Sathe, N. A., & Jerome, R. N. (2012). Noncyclic chronic pelvic pain therapies for women: Comparative effectiveness. Comparative Effectiveness Reviews, 41. Retrieved June 22, 2016, from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK84586/
  2. Mathias, S. D., Kuppermann, M., Liberman, R. F., Lipschutz, R. C., & Steege, J. F. (1996). Chronic pelvic pain: Prevalence, health-related quality of life, and economic correlates. Obstetrics & Gynecology, 87, 321–327.
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