Background: We hypothesized that abnormalities in connective tissue, found in women with genital descensus, could impact their pulmonary function.
Method: Therefore we compared lung flows and volumes between women with (n = 100) and without (n = 100) descensus.
Results: Patients exhibited highly significant decrements in all expiratory flows, especially in the peak expiratory flow (-35%) and other flows at large lung volumes. The forced vital capacity and forced expired volume at 1 second, but not their ratio, were also decreased (-16% and -17%, respectively). These differences were exaggerated in postmenopausal subjects and in patients with third degree of descensus, but did not depend on the presence of stress incontinence. Lung flows and volumes did not change between follicular and luteal phase of the cycle, either in patients or in controls. The forced vital capacity decreased with increasing years past the menopauses in patients (65 +/- 10 ml per year), but not in controls.
Conclusion: In women with genital descensus deteriorations in lung ventilatory function were observed in association with the presence and duration of postmenopauses.