No significant increase seen in cystitis diagnoses during COVID-19 pandemic

More women were diagnosed with interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome (IC/BPS) during than before the COVID-19 pandemic, but the difference was not statistically significant, according to a study published online Sept. 12 in LUTS: Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms.

Tahireh Markert, M.D., from Harvard Medical School in Boston, and colleagues compared the number of newly diagnosed IC/BPS cases and number of patients with flares before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in a retrospective cohort study involving women aged 18 years and older. The number of IC/BPS cases and number of patients with flares was compared for March 1, 2019, to Feb. 29, 2020 (prepandemic), and March 1, 2020, to Feb. 28, 2021 (during pandemic).

The patients had a median age of 35.0 years; 72 percent were premenopausal; 75 percent were sexually active; and 31 percent had anxiety, with no significant between-group differences. The researchers found that 54 women were diagnosed with IC/BPS during the pandemic compared with 40 women prepandemic (4.87 versus 4.05 percent); the diagnosis rates between the time periods was not statistically different. Thirty-five and 49 patients experienced flares during the pandemic and in the year prior, respectively.

"Although our results suggest the COVID-19 pandemic may not have a significant impact on the epidemiology of IC/BPS, more research is needed to confirm whether this is the case," the authors write.

One author is an advisor for Attn: Grace.