Hispanic women more likely to suffer from vulvodynia

Hispanic women are twice as likely as their Caucasian counterparts to suffer from vulvodynia, according to results of a longitudinal population-based study in Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Investigators at the University of Michigan conducted the Woman-to-Woman Health Study to measure incidence rates and risk factors for vulvodynia. They used a validated survey-based screening test, repeated every 6 months over the course of 30 months, to assess women in southeast Michigan.

Women who were negative for vulvodynia during the first survey (n = 1786) were followed for at least one more survey to assess for onset of vulvodynia. The incidence rate was 4.2 cases for every 100 person- years. Incidence was greater in younger women, with 7.6 cases per 100 person-years at 20 years of age, compared to 3.3 years per 100 person-years at age 60 years.  Women who were married or living as married had an incidence rate of 4.9 cases per 100 person-years.  Hispanic women, in contrast, presented 9.5 cases per 100 person-years.

An increased incidence of vulvodynia was seen in women who had vulvar pain symptoms but didn’t meet vulvodynia criteria during the first survey (11.5 cases per 100 person-years) and women who reported past symptoms that suggested a possible history of vulvodynia (7.5 cases per 100 person-years).

The study authors concluded that onset of vulvodynia was more likely in women who displayed symptoms of the condition in the past or were presently showing intermediate symptoms that did not meet the criteria of vulvodynia. The condition, they believe, may therefore be episodic with a potentially identifiable prodromal phase.  

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