Minority Women Undergo Surgical Treatment of Pelvic Organ Prolapse at Similar Rates to Non-minorities in a Hispanic Minority-majority Population: An Analysis of Nearly 1000 Women

Objective: To assess how race, ethnicity, primary language, clinical and other sociodemographic factors predict surgical treatment for pelvic organ prolapse (POP) in a minority-majority Hispanic population.

Methods: We identified patients with POP ICD-10 codes from Oct 2019 to Dec 2022 at our Urogynecology academic practice. Data were collected by chart review. Covariates were obtained by manual abstraction. Continuous and categorical variables were analyzed using t-test and chi-square test, and Wilcoxon rank-sum test for non-parametric data. A logistic regression model was fitted to identify independent predictors of surgery.

Results: Of 943 patients over 38 months, 441 (46.8%) underwent surgery. On univariate analysis, younger age, Hispanic/Latino ethnicity, Spanish as primary language, private insurance, stage of prolapse and obesity correlated with higher rates of surgical treatment. On multivariate regression, only age and prolapse compartment remained significant predictors. Younger age and apical prolapse increased the likelihood of surgery (OR=.98 [.96-.99], P = <.001; R=2.31 [1.13-4.72], P = <.001, respectively).

Conclusion: Controlling for confounders, age, and apical prolapse compartment predicted surgical treatment for POP in our Hispanic minority-majority population. Previously identified barriers to care including minority status and non-English primary language do not appear to exist in our population. This may be related to linguistic, ethnic, and racial concordance between healthcare staff and patients, alongside protective aspects of ethnic enclaves. Further research is warranted to understand the impact of cultural barriers, such as provider language, on patient-provider dynamics and surgical decision-making.