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Incidence of physician‐diagnosed interstitial cystitis in Olmsted County: a community‐based study
Author(s) -
Roberts R.O.,
Bergstralh E.J.,
Bass S.E.,
Lightner D.J.,
Lieber M.M.,
Jacobsen S.J.
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
bju international
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.773
H-Index - 148
eISSN - 1464-410X
pISSN - 1464-4096
DOI - 10.1046/j.1464-410x.2003.04060.x
Subject(s) - medicine , interstitial cystitis , rochester epidemiology project , incidence (geometry) , epidemiology , confidence interval , population , pediatrics , population based study , urinary system , physics , environmental health , optics
OBJECTIVE To obtain community‐based information about the incidence of interstitial cystitis, a chronic disabling condition of the bladder where knowledge is limited because there are no definitive diagnostic criteria. PATIENTS AND METHODS All residents of Olmsted County, MN, USA who had received a physician‐assigned diagnosis of interstitial cystitis between 1976 and 1996 were identified through the resources of the Rochester Epidemiology Project. The clinical findings at diagnosis and during the follow‐up were ascertained from the community medical records for each study subject. RESULTS In all, 16 women and four men received a diagnosis of interstitial cystitis during the study period. The overall age‐ and sex‐adjusted (95% confidence interval) incidence rate was 1.1 (0.6–1.5) per 100 000 population. The age‐adjusted incidence rates were 1.6 per 100 000 in women and 0.6 per 100 000 in men ( P = 0.04). The median (range) age at initial diagnosis was 44.5 (27–76) years in women and 71.5 (23–79) years in men ( P = 0.26). The median number of episodes of care‐seeking for symptoms before the diagnosis was one for women and 4.5 for men ( P = 0.03). The median duration from the onset of symptoms until the first diagnosis was 0.06 and 2.2 years in women and men, respectively ( P = 0.2). CONCLUSIONS These findings suggest that the incidence of interstitial cystitis in the community is extremely low. Although the gender difference may be real, the trend toward a later diagnosis in men than in women suggests a potential for missed diagnosis in men. This might explain some of the gender difference in the incidence of interstitial cystitis in men and women.