Hospitalizations for pelvic inflammatory disease. Epidemiology and trends in the United States, 1975 to 1981.

To assess trends in hospitalizations for pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) in the United States for 1975 through 1981, we analyzed data from the Hospital Discharge Survey conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics. Overall, both the estimated number and rate of hospitalizations for PID among women aged 15 to 44 years rose slightly. For the seven-year period, an estimated average of 267,200 women were hospitalized annually for PID, with hospitalization rates averaging 5.3 per 1,000 women. Risk of hospitalization for PID was greatest among women in their 20s. Divorced or separated women were considerably more likely to have been hospitalized than single or married women. Although nonwhite women had estimated average rate 2.5 times higher than for white women, the trend of hospitalizations for PID among nonwhite women appeared relatively stable while the trend among young white women showed measurable increases.