Incidence and clinical characteristics of interstitial cystitis in the community.

We utilized physician-coded diagnoses and chart reviews to estimate the incidence of interstitial cystitis (IC) in women. A computer search of the Kaiser Permanente database was performed to identify newly coded diagnoses of IC (ICD-9 code 595.1) between May 2002 and May 2005. Chart reviews were performed and patient demographics, diagnosing physicians, and symptom characteristics were recorded. The IC incidence rate was 15 per 100,000 women per year. The mean age of the patients was 51 years (range 31-81 years). The most common presenting symptoms were frequency (70%), dysuria (52%), urgency (50%), suprapubic pain (50%), nocturia (35%), and dyspareunia (13%). Cases diagnosed by primary care physicians had a shorter median symptom duration (9 months) compared with those diagnosed by urologists (1 year) and gynecologists (3 years). IC is an uncommon diagnosis in the community setting, with an incidence rate of 15 per 100,000 women per year.