Hosier, Gregory W, Doiron, R Christopher, Tolls, Victoria et al. · Canadian Urological Association journal = Journal de l'Association des urologues du Canada · 2018 · DOI
This study compared how chronic pelvic pain affects men and women differently. Researchers found that women with pelvic pain had more bladder symptoms, nerve-related symptoms, and were more likely to have other conditions like chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, and depression. Men and women with the same diagnosis actually experience quite different patterns of pain and related health problems.
This study is relevant to ME/CFS patients because it documents a 8.5-fold higher prevalence of chronic fatigue syndrome in females with UCPPS and identifies sex-based differences in comorbidity patterns. Understanding how chronic pain conditions co-occur differently in men and women may help explain why ME/CFS presents differently by sex and inform better diagnostic and treatment strategies for overlapping conditions.
This study does not prove that UCPPS causes ME/CFS or that sex hormones directly cause the observed differences—it only shows correlation. The retrospective design means comorbid diagnoses were not systematically confirmed at enrollment, and causality between UCPPS and other systemic conditions remains unclear. Cross-sectional data cannot establish temporal relationships or rule out confounding factors.
About the PEM badge: “PEM required” means post-exertional malaise was an explicit required diagnostic criterion for participant inclusion in this study — not that PEM was studied, observed, or discussed. Studies using criteria that do not require PEM (e.g. Fukuda, Oxford) are tagged “PEM not required”. How the atlas works →
Spotted an error in this entry? Report it →