PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS IN 155 PATIENTS WITH FUNCTIONAL UTERINE BLEEDING.

Abstract One hundred and fifty-five women with functional uterine bleeding were studied to evaluate the importance of concomitant psychological disorders. Psychological illnesses were diagnosed in 128 patients (82.6%), most of which arose from problems directly related to sexual or reproductive functions. The remaining 27 patients (17.4%) were different in that they were psychologically stable and all but two were at puberty or approaching the menopause. Histological studies of endometrial samples from 135 of these patients indicated little evidence of abnormal sex hormone activity; 77 (57%) showed normal secretory phase endometrium and 32 (23.7%), proliferative phase endometrium. The remaining 26 (19.2%) showed evidence of some endocrine dysfunction, 15 such specimens being obtained from psychologically stable patients. It is probable that psychological disturbances are the principal cause of functional uterine bleeding during the prime reproductive years. The psychological component of the illness is the most important and determines the ultimate prognosis. Full text PDFSelected References These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article. - BROWN J. B., KELLAR R., MATTHEW G. D. Preliminary observations on urinary oestrogen excretion in certain gynaecological disorders. J Obstet Gynaecol Br Emp. 1959 Apr;66(2):177–211. doi: 10.1111/j.1471-0528.1959.tb01999.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar] - MORTON J. H. Premenstrual tension. Clin Obstet Gynecol. 1959 Mar;2(1):136–152. doi: 10.1097/00003081-195903000-00015. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar] - O'NEILL D. Stress and the female role. J Obstet Gynaecol Br Emp. 1959 Oct;66:762–768. doi: 10.1111/j.1471-0528.1959.tb01923.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar] - TAYLOR H. C., Jr The pelvic pain syndrome. J Obstet Gynaecol Br Emp. 1959 Oct;66:781–783. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]