Mental disorders in patients with chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CPPS)

OBJECTIVE: Chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CPPS) is a debilitating pain condition with prevalence rates between 2.0% and 26.6%. Studies indicate that CPPS is often associated with psychosocial factors, but little is known about the presence of full-blown mental disorders in female and male patients with CPPS. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the frequencies of mental disorders in patients with CPPS.

METHODS: Cross-sectional data were collected from patients visiting a specialized outpatient clinic. Frequencies of mental disorders were investigated using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis I Disorders (SCID-I) and compared to the general population. Furthermore, self-rating questionnaires were used to assess somatic symptom severity (PHQ-15), depression severity (PHQ-9) and anxiety severity (GAD-7).

RESULTS: Data from 178 CPPS patients (60.1% female; age M=49.1, SD=18.0) were analyzed. Of the total sample, 95.2% (95% CI 90.8-97.9) suffered from at least one mental disorder. The most prevalent mental disorders were somatoform disorders (91.7%; 95% CI 86.4-95.4), followed by mood disorders (50.6%; 95% CI 42.8-58.4) and anxiety disorders (32.1%; 95% CI 25.2-39.8). The self-reported symptom burden was also significantly higher than in the general population. Compared to men, women met the diagnoses of somatoform (p=0.012) and anxiety disorders (p=0.027) significantly more often and reported a significantly higher total somatic symptom severity (p=0.001).

CONCLUSION: Our results provide evidence for a clinically relevant psychosocial symptom burden in patients with CPPS, indicating the need for the examination of psychopathologies and multi-professional treatment for this patient group.