Aims: To prospectively collect data five years after hysterectomy and compare with data of women who had not undergone hysterectomy.
Methods: A prospective cohort study of five years of premenopausal women with and with out hysterectomy was undertaken. Multivariate analytical methods were used to control for differences between groups.
Results: Comparing the prehysterectomy and five years post-hysterectomy data, pelvic pain, abdominal pain, urinary frequency and depression scores were reduced five years following hysterectomy. Women in the non-hysterectomy group were more likely to describe their health as good or very good (74%) than women in the hysterectomy group (56%) (P=0.03).
Conclusions: The long-term health of women who undergo hysterectomy is not noticeably different from a group of women who do not undergo hysterectomy. In women undergoing hysterectomy, pelvic pain, urinary frequency and depression scores are reduced five years after hysterectomy compared to prehysterectomy.