{"paper_id":"669ebc54-aae2-4f59-96b6-e318c90a01b5","body_text":"Abstract\nIntroduction and hypothesis\nAlmost 20% of women will suffer from sexual abuse at some point in their lives. This is a known risk factor for developing chronic pelvic pain (CPP), which is a major health problem worldwide. We conducted a pilot study in a Gynecology Outpatient Clinic to find the correlation between these two clinical entities and provide better evidence for their diagnosis and treatment.\nMethods\nA semi-structured interview for the evaluation of sexual violence in women (EVS) was used as a screening tool and a complement to routine gynecological examination to identify patients suffering from sexual abuse. Patients included were also assessed for comorbidities, including CPP, and other coexisting mental health problems.\nResults\nOf the 61 patients screened, 33 (54.1%) had pelvic pain. Also, 11 patients (18%) had suffered sexual abuse at some point in their lives, which was only disclosed when the specific interview was performed. Ten patients (90.8%) out of 11 that had been sexually abused also had pelvic pain. This was found to be statistically significant in this sample (p = 0.008) with a more than 11-fold greater risk of having pelvic pain (OR, 11.7; 95% CI, 1.4–98.7). Most patients did not have psychological violence (77%) but those that did (23%) had a seven-fold greater risk of having pelvic pain (OR, 7.4; 95% CI, 1.5–36.9).\nConclusion\nSpecific tools should intentionally be used for evaluating sexual abuse and chronic pelvic pain, since a strong correlation exists between these two entities and they are seldom reported by patients.\nSimilar content being viewed by others\nAvailability of data and material\nData are available upon reasonable request.\nReferences\nAmerican College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. 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Attitudes of women with chronic pelvic pain to the gynaecological consultation: a qualitative study. 2006: 446–452. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-0528.2006.00862.x.\nAcknowledgments\nWe thank Sergio Lozano-Rodriguez, MD, for his help in editing the manuscript.\nFunding\nFunding was provided by the Obstetrics and Gynecology Department.\nAuthor information\nAuthors and Affiliations\nContributions\nJG Garza-Leal: Protocol/project development; data analysis.\nFJ Sosa-Bravo: Data collection and management; data analysis; manuscript writing/editing.\nJG Garza-Marichalar: Data collection and management; data analysis; manuscript writing/editing.\nG Soto-Quintero: Data collection and management; data analysis; manuscript writing/editing.\nL Castillo-Saenz: Protocol/project development; data analysis.\nS Fernández-Zambrano: Protocol/project development; data analysis.\nCorresponding author\nEthics declarations\nEthics approval\nThis trial was registered and approved by the Ethics Committee on October 20, 2020, with registration no. PS20–00019.\nConsent to participate\nThis was a retrospective study. An analysis of databases was made. Informed consent from patients was not required.\nConflict of interest\nNone.\nAdditional information\nPublisher’s note\nSpringer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.\nRights and permissions\nAbout this article\nCite this article\nGarza-Leal, J.G., Sosa-Bravo, F.J., Garza-Marichalar, J.G. et al. Sexual abuse and chronic pelvic pain in a gynecology outpatient clinic. A pilot study. Int Urogynecol J 32, 1285–1291 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00192-021-04772-4\nReceived:\nAccepted:\nPublished:\nVersion of record:\nIssue date:\nDOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00192-021-04772-4","source_license":"CC0","license_restricted":false}