Jones C A, Nyberg L
National Institute of Diabetes, Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892-6600, USA.
Urology. 1997 May;49(5A Suppl):2-9. doi: 10.1016/s0090-4295(99)80327-6.
To discuss what is currently known about the population prevalence of interstitial cystitis (IC) and demographic characteristics of IC patients.
Changes over time in the criteria for diagnosis of IC are described. The 3 published studies of the population prevalence of IC are reviewed. Epidemiologic issues important in the design of studies of IC are cited.
IC is a disease of chronic voiding symptoms. There is very little reliable information published on the etiology, risk factors, or number of persons affected. The criteria used for diagnosis of IC by different investigators have been variable. In 1988, research criteria for a case definition of IC were published, to be applied for IC patients enrolled in National Institutes of Health-funded studies. Three published studies of the population prevalence of IC are available. Each study used different criteria for defining a case of IC, and none used the NIH research criteria to define a case. Prevalence estimates for IC vary significantly, from 10 cases/100,000 reported in Finland in 1975, (based on hospital record review), to 30/100,000 in the United States in 1987, (based on a mailed survey of board certified urologists), to 510 cases/100,000 in the United States in 1989, (based on participant self-report in the 1989 National Health Interview Survey). It is unclear the extent to which these estimates represent true differences in prevalence, rather than reflect the different methods used to define an IC case. Several investigators have reported demographic characteristics of the IC patients followed in their clinics. All studies of adults show a marked female predominance, with reported onset of symptoms generally in the middle years of life. Patients may experience a delay of years from the onset of symptoms to the time of definitive diagnosis. The natural history of symptoms of IC has been reported to be that of a subacute onset with a rapid peak in severity, and then a relatively constant plateau of chronic symptoms thereafter. However, many patients do experience remissions and flares in their disease symptoms.
Few therapies for IC have been evaluated using rigorous epidemiologic methods. Many questions remain to be answered. New studies of IC should include epidemiologic consultation at the stage of study design.
探讨目前已知的间质性膀胱炎（IC）的人群患病率及IC患者的人口统计学特征。
描述IC诊断标准随时间的变化。回顾3项已发表的关于IC人群患病率的研究。引用在IC研究设计中重要的流行病学问题。
IC是一种慢性排尿症状疾病。关于其病因、危险因素或受影响人数的可靠信息发表极少。不同研究者用于诊断IC的标准各不相同。1988年，发布了IC病例定义的研究标准，用于国立卫生研究院资助研究中纳入的IC患者。现有3项已发表的关于IC人群患病率的研究。每项研究用于定义IC病例的标准不同，且均未使用美国国立卫生研究院的研究标准来定义病例。IC的患病率估计差异显著，从1975年芬兰报告的每10万人中有10例（基于医院记录回顾），到1987年美国的每10万人中有30例（基于对委员会认证泌尿外科医生的邮寄调查），再到1989年美国的每10万人中有510例（基于1989年国家健康访谈调查中的参与者自我报告）。尚不清楚这些估计在多大程度上代表患病率的真实差异，而非反映用于定义IC病例的不同方法。几位研究者报告了他们诊所中随访的IC患者的人口统计学特征。所有关于成年人的研究均显示女性明显居多，症状通常在中年发病。患者从症状出现到确诊可能会延迟数年。据报道，IC症状的自然史是亚急性起病，严重程度迅速达到峰值，此后是相对持续的慢性症状平台期。然而，许多患者确实会经历疾病症状的缓解和发作。
很少有针对IC的治疗方法通过严格的流行病学方法进行评估。许多问题仍有待解答。IC的新研究应在研究设计阶段纳入流行病学咨询。
