Biochemical evaluation of the supporting structure of pelvic organs in selected numbers of premenopausal and postmenopausal Malaysian women.

Context: Pelvic organ prolapse (POP) is associated with menopause and changes in the proteins of the pelvic supporting system, but there is scant data on the precise alterations in Malaysian women.

Aim: The aim of this study is to determine the differences in the extracellular matrices (ECM) of uterosacral ligaments in premenopausal and postmenopausal Malaysian women with or without POP.

Settings And Design: The observational study was conducted for 9 months in three general hospitals involving 30 women who underwent hysterectomies for various indications except for carcinoma of pelvic organs.