Table 2.
Participants’ menstrual, psychological, and QST characteristics.
| HC | DYS | DYSB | BPS | P value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Menstrual characteristics | |||||
| Hormonal contraceptive use in cycle prior to study washout | 2 (6.9%) | 4 (10.0%) | 5 (13.5%) | 4 (22.2%) | 0.439 |
| Hormonal contraceptive use in last 6 months | 3 (10.3%) | 8 (20.0%) | 6 (16.2%) | 6 (33.3%) | 0.252 |
| Cycle length | 28.0 [25.0, 32.0] | 29.0 [26.1, 33.4] | 29.0 [26.0, 33.0] | 28.0 [25.0, 30.8] | 0.499 |
| Visit cycle day | 19 [17 23] | 20 [18 24] | 20 [17 22] | 20 [17 24] | 0.853 |
| Menstrual pain 0–100 VAS | 10.0 [4.0, 22.0] | 73.0 [65.0, 81.2] a | 70.0 [64.5, 85.0] a | 72.0 [60.0, 98.0] a | <0.001 |
| Other pain symptom and psychological characteristics | |||||
| Pain behavior | 50.1 [36.7, 55.6] | 52.5 [36.7, 56.6] | 56.4 [53.9, 59.2] a | 58.9 [56.4, 61.7] a | <0.001 |
| Pain interference | 41.0 [41.0, 50.8] | 48.5 [41.0, 52.5] | 55.0 [50.8, 58.1] a | 62.2 [54.4, 65.2] a | <0.001 |
| Somatic symptoms | 1.0 [0.0, 3.0] | 1.0 [0.0, 4.0] | 3.0 [2.0, 6.0] a | 6.5 [3.0, 9.8] a | <0.001 |
| Anxiety | 53.8 [48.4, 56.3] | 56.3 [46.7, 61.3] | 56.3 [53.8, 61.3] a | 60.0 [55.4, 65.1] a | 0.006 |
| Depression | 53.4 [43.3, 57.1] | 51.2 [43.3, 55.3] | 54.3 [51.2, 61.6] | 57.1 [50.1, 62.5] | 0.036 |
| ICSI | 2 [2 4] | 2 [1 6] | 6 [4 9]a | 11 [9 14] | <0.001 |
| Quantitative sensory testing | |||||
| Bladder pain at first urge | 3.0 [1.0, 3.0] | 2.0 [1.0, 4.0] | 32.0 [24.0, 48.0] a | 42.5 [34.2, 55.0] a | <0.001 |
| Vaginal PPT (Newtons) | 11.9 [7.6, 14.1] | 7.6 [5.8, 12.8] | 6.3 [4.6, 10.7] a | 7.2 [4.5, 10.0] a | 0.010 |
| Body PPT (Newtons) | 23.9 [18.4, 34.1] | 18.1 [14.0, 27.2] | 18.5 [15.2, 22.5] a | 21.9 [15.1, 30.5] | 0.022 |
| Cold pressor (NRS) | 4.5 [3.0, 6.0] | 7.0 [5.0, 9.2] a | 6.0 [5.0, 7.0] a | 6.5 [4.8, 7.2] a | 0.001 |
Note: HC = Healthy pain free Control; DYS = Dysmenorrhea only; DYSB = Dysmenorrhea with Bladder Sensitivity; BPS = Bladder Pain Syndrome; VAS = Visual Analogue Scale; ICSI = Interstitial Cystitis Symptom Index Score NRS = Numerical Rating Scale. Data are represented as median [25th, 75th percentile] or as number (percentage). P values are from Chi-square or Kruskal Wallis tests.
Bold numbers and superscript “a” indicate p < 0.05 different from HC after correction for multiple comparisons.