Depressive symptoms in women seeking surgery for pelvic organ prolapse

Introduction and hypothesis To compare depressive symptoms in women with and without prolapse and evaluate impact on quality of life. Methods This is a secondary analysis of a case–control study assessing the effect of prolapse on body image. Cases had prolapse and sought surgery (Pelvic Organ Prolapse Quantification stage ≥2). Controls had stage ≤1. Subjects completed the Pelvic Floor Impact Questionnaire (PFIQ), Pelvic Floor Distress Inventory, and the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) at baseline. Cases completed measures 6 months post-operatively. We report: (1) the comparison of cases and controls at baseline and (2) comparison of baseline and post-operative scores in cases. Results Baseline questionnaires were completed by 75 cases and 65 controls; 57 cases completed post-operative measures. Cases were 5-fold more likely than controls to have depressive symptoms. Cases with depressive symptoms had higher PFIQ scores than cases without symptoms. PHQ-9 scores improved post-operatively. Conclusions Depressive symptoms are common in women with prolapse and a decrease following surgical treatment.