Epidemiology of Interstitial Cystitis: 1

Abstract

The only existing statistics concerning a whole regional population is the above-mentioned study (Oravisto 1975). The diagnosis is based on the following findings:

• 1 Frequency and pain or feeling of discomfort uninterruptedly for months or years, despite sterile urine

• 2 Biopsy of a seemingly unaffected site of the bladder wall shows variable fibrosis, edema and/or lymphocytic infiltration

• 3 Overdistension is often followed by temporary relief of symptoms In the province of Uusimaa in southern Finland, including the city of Helsinki, there were 974 305 inhabitants, with 523 794 women and 450 511 men. Women aged more than 20 years numbered 510 941. The inhabitants of rural communities numbered 251 570 and those of cities 721 925, including 523 051 inhabitants of Helsinki.

Since my paper in 1975 (Oravisto 1975), very little has been published on the epidemiology of interstitial cystitis. The smallness of the various series and the difficulty of collecting pertinent data do not encourage general epidemiologic conclusions. Different statistics can be compared and combined only with great caution because of the variability of the diagnosis. Moreover, my own study cannot be easily repeated, because in the region where I collected my series the care of these patients nowadays is too dispersed.