Abnormal spinal curvature as a risk factor for pelvic organ prolapse.

Abstract

To determine the relationship between pelvic organ prolapse and spinal curvature changes, a cross-sectional study was done in Gynecologic and Obstetrics educational hospitals and clinics in North West of Iran. One hundred patients were classified as cases based on the presence of abnormality at the spinal curvature and 100 patients classified as controls with no abnormality. The POP-Q (pelvic organ prolapse quantitation) staging system was used for assessment of prolapse stage and a flexi-curve malleable rod for measurement of thoracic and lumbar length and width, respectively. Main outcome was the stage of prolapses. The stage of prolapse was higher in cases compared to controls. There was a significant statistical difference between prolapse stage in two groups (p-value = 0.035). Among cases, grade II prolapse was the most prevalent abnormally (56%) and the grade III, I and IV were observed in 32, 5 and 7%, respectively. These observations underline the importance of taking into account the abnormal changes in spine curvature of patients when investigating risk factors for development of pelvic organs prolapse.