More women diagnosed with interstitial cystitis\/bladder pain syndrome, but difference was not significant<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n
By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter<\/b><\/p>\n
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FRIDAY, Nov. 3, 2023 (HealthDay News) — More women were diagnosed with interstitial cystitis\/bladder pain syndrome (IC\/BPS) during than before the COVID-19 pandemic, but the difference was not statistically significant, according to a study published online Sept. 12 in LUTS: Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms<\/em>.<\/p>\n Tahireh Markert, M.D., from Harvard Medical School in Boston, and colleagues compared the number of newly diagnosed IC\/BPS cases and number of patients with flares before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in a retrospective cohort study involving women aged 18 years and older. The number of IC\/BPS cases and number of patients with flares was compared for March 1, 2019, to Feb. 29, 2020 (prepandemic), and March 1, 2020, to Feb. 28, 2021 (during pandemic).<\/p>\n The patients had a median age of 35.0 years; 72 percent were premenopausal; 75 percent were sexually active; and 31 percent had anxiety, with no significant between-group differences. The researchers found that 54 women were diagnosed with IC\/BPS during the pandemic compared with 40 women prepandemic (4.87 versus 4.05 percent); the diagnosis rates between the time periods was not statistically different. Thirty-five and 49 patients experienced flares during the pandemic and in the year prior, respectively.<\/p>\n “Although our results suggest the COVID-19 pandemic may not have a significant impact on the epidemiology of IC\/BPS, more research is needed to confirm whether this is the case,” the authors write.<\/p>\n One author is an advisor for Attn: Grace.<\/p>\n Abstract\/Full Text (subscription or payment may be required)<\/a><\/p>\n <\/i><\/p>\n