Study links adolescent reproductive care to adult chronic pelvic pain
Researchers found 28% of those who sought adolescent care had chronic pelvic pain a decade later, compared to 15% who did not.
People who sought medical care for gynecological or reproductive issues as adolescents were nearly twice as likely to have chronic pelvic pain as adults, according to a new Canadian study.
The research, published Oct. 6, 2026, in The Lancet Regional Health, Americas, used linked administrative health data from nearly half a million Ontario residents.
Ten years after entering adulthood, 28 per cent of people who had made adolescent healthcare visits for gynecological or reproductive issues had chronic pelvic pain, the study found.
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Among those who had not made such visits during adolescence, the figure was about 15 per cent.
After accounting for other health problems and the frequency of healthcare use during adolescence, this association remained.
The rate of chronic pelvic pain was 41 per cent higher in the group with previous gynecological or reproductive healthcare visits.
The authors used linked administrative data from Ontario’s healthcare system, held by ICES, and followed participants from adolescence into adulthood.
Specialists from ICES Toronto, the University of Toronto, and McGill University also took part in the work.
The scientists also found that adolescents with such healthcare visits more often had gastrointestinal problems, mental health disorders, and chronic pain in other parts of the body.
According to the authors, the findings do not prove that health problems during adolescence cause chronic pelvic pain, but they point to patterns that the healthcare system may be able to notice earlier.
Chronic pelvic pain is persistent pain in the lower abdomen or pelvis that can last for months or years and affect daily life, education, work, relationships, and mental health.
The researchers note that such symptoms are sometimes seen as a normal part of growing up, even when they are severe or persistent.
With files from UA.NEWS
Amara Okafor covers health, medical research and public health in Canada for Novello Desserts.