A prospective study of outcomes after hysterectomy in mid-aged Australian-born women

Objective To describe the prevalence of hysterectomy in a mid-aged population-based sample of Australian-born women who were menstruating at baseline and followed for 11 years, and to compare the hysterectomized women with the non-hysterectomized women with regard to symptom reporting and health outcomes. Methods This was a 12-year prospective observational study of 438 women who at baseline were aged 45-55 years, not taking hormone therapy (HT) and had menstruated in the previous 3 months. Interviews were conducted face-to-face. Results After 11 years of follow-up, 39 (9%) women had experienced a hysterectomy, of whom 43.5% had the uterus only removed, 13% had the uterus plus one ovary and 43.5% had the uterus and both ovaries removed. Hysterectomies were performed on average 5.8 years prior to the year 11 interview. The mean age at hysterectomy was 54 years. Multivariate logistic regression analysis, including all co-variates, found that women who had experienced a hysterectomy (+/- oophorectomy) were significantly more likely to complain of trouble sleeping (p < 0.01), have problems with urine control (p < 0.05) and with their bowels (p = 0.07), have used HT (p < 0.05) and have a higher body mass index (p < 0.05). There were no significant associations between hysterectomy and sexuality or hot flush reporting. Conclusion In a community-based sample of Australian-born women, the experience of a hysterectomy after the age of 45 years was associated with bladder, weight and sleeping problems 5-6 years after the surgery.