Is there any association between socio-demographic characteristics and presenting complaints in patients with posterior compartment pelvic floor disorders?

Introduction:

Posterior compartmental pelvic floor disorders (PC-PFD) include symptoms of anal incontinence, obstructed defaecation (ODS) and functional anal pain [1]. According to the pelvic floor report in 2021, 6.5 million people suffered from bowel problems in the UK.

We determined the association of socio-demographic and clinical characteristics with presenting complaints in patients with PC-PFD and prevalence of the type of presenting complaint.

Methods:

This is a cross-sectional single-institution study of patients with (PC-PFD)reviewed in a tertiary pelvic floor unit between 2013 and 2019. Data was collected for socio-demographics from a prospectively maintained database and retrospectively for clinical factors.

Results:

Initial appointment was attended by 1956 patients with a mean age of 52.9 $+/-$ 15.5 years. The. Main presenting complaints reported were obstructive defaecation (ODS – $n$ = 819, 42.2%), anal incontinence (AI) (503, 25.9%), mixed (ODS and AI) (411, 21.2%), rectal prolapse (84, 4.3%), other complaints (rectal pain or bleeding – $n=84$, 4.3%) and symptoms of vaginal prolapse (38,2.1%).

ODS was associated with age < 50 years, female gender and episiotomy while AI was associated with parity and prior hysterectomy and pelvic floor surgery. Rectal prolapse was associated with female gender while other complaints with age < 50 years.

Conclusion:

This study reports socio-demographic and clinical risk factors associated with presenting complaints in patients with PC-PFD. This can form a basis for future prospective research to take initiatives for creating awareness about PC-PFD and identify symptoms in high-risk patients early to offer treatment or make timely referral from the community or primary care.