SynthesisBMC women's health2026
An exploration of sexual and relational impacts of transvaginal mesh injury: a systematic review using thematic synthesis.
Synthesis in BMC women's health, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
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.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundTransvaginal mesh, used to treat Pelvic Organ Prolapse and Stress Urinary Incontinence, has caused substantial injury to a growing number of women. The impact of mesh injury is far-reaching, significantly disrupting women's lives. Whilst there is a growing body of literature examining the impacts, there is little research that specifically aims to understand the sexual and relational implications of mesh injury. This study aimed to systematically review evidence regarding the impacts of mesh injury reported by women in relation to sexual and relational functioning.
methodsA systematic search of five databases (CINAHL, MEDLINE, PubMed, PsycINFO, and ProQuest Dissertations and Theses) and a grey literature search was conducted in April 2026. Studies and inquiries reporting data about women's experiences of mesh injury where sexual and relational impacts were reported were included. The quality of each study was assessed using the qualitative CASP checklist. The data was thematically synthesised.
resultsA total of nine reports were included, comprising of six published studies, one unpublished Doctoral thesis, and two government inquiries. Sample sizes were varied, with individual study sample sizes ranging from 7-84, and a secondary analysis of 399 accounts from one study. Participants included in government inquiries ranged between 517 and 555. A conservative total of 1483 participants is represented, reflecting the heterogeneity of the evidence base and limitations in the reporting of inquiry data. Of the nine included reports, eight were rated high quality with one rated as moderate. Seven overlapping themes were developed from the data: 1) Sexual functioning: changes due to pain, 2) Changes to sexuality, 3) Relational activity: changes due to pain, 4) Changes to relationship satisfaction, 5) Identity: changing sense of self navigating life with mesh injury, 6) Changes in relational roles and a seventh central theme of disrupted embodied sexual-relational self.
conclusionWomen with mesh injury experience significant sexual and relational disruption as a result of chronic pain, contributing to psychological distress. Psychological flexibility may be a protective mechanism for relational distress. Further research that seeks to understand these impacts is needed, which may inform the development of appropriate psychological interventions.
trial registrationPROSPERO ID: CRD420251077730.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.