THURSDAY, March 22 (HealthDay News) -- The incidence of hysterectomies declined in women of nearly all age groups between 1965 and 2002, according to the results of a study published in the March issue of the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology. Only among women aged 75 to 85 has the incidence rate remained steady.
Adil E. Bharucha, M.D., and colleagues from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., examined the utilization and characteristics of hysterectomies among women in Olmsted County, Minn., from 1965-2002.
The researchers found that during the study period, 6,152 women had a hysterectomy and 3,126 women also had a pelvic floor repair. After adjusting for age, both significantly declined with time by 13 percent and 63 percent, respectively. The decline was observed in all age groups except in those aged 75 to 85.
Procedures were vaginal in 56 percent of cases and abdominal in 44 percent of cases, the investigators found. The most common reasons for hysterectomy were uterine leiomyomata, precancerous conditions and genital prolapse.
"Among community women, the utilization rate, age distribution and indications for a hysterectomy changed substantially between 1965 and 2002," Bharucha and colleagues conclude.
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