ArticleInternational urogynecology journal2013
Does age affect visualization of the levator ani in nulliparous women?
Article in International urogynecology journal, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed.
- Age-associated changes in the mechanical properties of human cadaveric pelvic floor muscles.Journal of biomechanics · 2020Article
- Impact of vaginal parity and aging on the architectural design of pelvic floor muscles.American journal of obstetrics and gynecology · 2016Article
- Increasing Age Is a Risk Factor for Decreased Postpartum Pelvic Floor Strength.Female pelvic medicine & reconstructive surgeryArticle
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introduction and hypothesisOur aim was to assess whether differences in the ages of nulliparous women affect: (1) interobserver reliability, and (2) visualization of the levator ani (LA) muscle subdivisions in nulliparous women using 3D endovaginal ultrasound (3D-EVUS).
methodsThis was a cross-sectional study. Community-dwelling nulliparous women ages 21-70 years were recruited. Participants underwent a standard examination and a 3D-EVUS. LA subdivisions of interest included the puboperinealis, puboanalis, pubococcygeus, puborectalis, and ileococcygeus muscles. Each ultrasound (US) volume was scored using a validated scale and assessed by two observers. Defect severity was scored for each muscle from 0 (no defect) to 6 (complete muscle loss). A summed score of the two sides was grouped as normal (0), minor (1-3), or major (4-6). Bias was examined using Bland-Altman plots. Intraclass coefficients were calculated to report agreement of total scores. Spearman's rank correlation was used to evaluate the association between age and LA scores.
resultsEighty nulliparous women were evaluated. Exact agreement for bilateral scoring of each LA subdivision ranged from 82 % to 84 %. Bilateral scoring of the puboperinealis, puborectalis, and ileococcygeus showed moderate to substantial agreement. Bilateral scores of the puboperinealis demonstrated substantial agreement between observers, with an ICC of 0.8 and a mean difference of -0.2 using the Bland-Altman analysis. When women were analyzed by age decade, reader agreement was overall good to excellent. There was no significant correlation between increasing age and total LA muscle scores (r = 0.179, p = 0.113).
conclusionsInterobserver reliability or visualization of the LA muscle in nulliparous women was not affected by a woman's age.
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