Chronic Prostatitis/chronic Pelvic Pain Syndrome - Epidemiology

Epidemiology

The annual prevalence in the general population of chronic pelvic pain syndrome is 0.5%. 38% of primary care providers, when presented with a vignette of a man with CPPS, indicate that they have never seen such a patient. However, the overall prevalence of symptoms suggestive of CP/CPPS is 6.3%. The role of the prostate was questioned in the etiology of CP/CPPS when both men and women in the general population were tested using the (1) National Institutes of Health Chronic Prostatitis Symptom Index (NIH-CPSI) —with the female homolog of each male anatomical term use on questionnaires for female participants— (2) the International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS), and (3) additional questions on pelvic pain. The prevalence of symptoms suggestive of CPPS in this selected population was 5.7% in women and 2.7% in men, placing in doubt the role of the prostate gland. New evidence suggests that the prevalence of CP/CPPS is much higher in teenage males than once suspected.