Structured psychiatric and sexual abuse interviews were administered to
25 women with chronic pelvic pain and a comparison group of 30 women with
specific gynecological conditions. All 55 patients underwent diagnostic
laparoscopy, and the results of the fiberoptic pelvic examination were
objectively classified by the study gynecologist, who was blind to the
psychiatric diagnoses. The patients with chronic pelvic pain showed a
significantly higher prevalence of major depression, substance abuse, adult
sexual dysfunction, somatization, and history of childhood and adult sexual
abuse than the comparison group. There were no significant differences
between the groups in severity or type of pelvic pathology.
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