Material and Method: The cross-sectional study with age-matched controls was conducted in a university hospital. The study group comprised of consecutive premenopausal women aged 17 to 51 years who had a chief complaint of CPP. Severity of pain was evaluated using a visual analog scale. The diagnosis of IBS was based on the Rome II criteria.

Results: The prevalence of IBS in the mild-moderate CPP group was 21 in 104 (20.2%) patients, and in the severe CPP group 25 in 131 (19.1%) patients. The patients in both mild-moderate CPP group (p-value = 0.028), and severe CPP group (p-value = 0.036) had higher prevalence of IBS compared to the controls. The prevalence of IBS in the mild-moderate CPP group was not different from that in the severe CPP group.

Conclusion: The prevalence of IBS in patients with mild-moderate CPP was similar to that in patients with severe CPP.

Keywords: Irritable bowel syndrome, Dysmenorrhea, Pelvic pain, Prevalence