Trauma and posttraumatic stress disorder in women with chronic pelvic pain

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To examine the effect of abuse history, other major trauma, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) on medical symptoms and health-related daily functioning in women with chronic pelvic pain. METHODS: We administered a questionnaire to 713 consecutive women seen in a referral-based pelvic pain clinic. RESULTS: We found that 46.8% reported having either a sexual or physical abuse history. A total of 31.3% had a positive screen for PTSD. Using regression and path analysis, controlling for demographic variables, we found that a trauma history was associated with worse daily physical functioning due to poor health (P