Psychological and somatic factors in women with pain due to pelvic congestion.

Chronic pelvic pain in association with dilated pelvic veins and polycystic ovaries is a common complaint in women in the reproductive years, regardless of whether or not they have been pregnant. These women have a higher incidence of deaths and illnesses amongst family members and close relatives which makes them pay more attention to physical complaints such as pain which may make them more susceptible to environmental "stress" of daily life. A hypothesis is put forward which would link the effects of stress to the somatic changes observed in women with what is here described as the pelvic pain syndrome.