People at risk

• The women. From 80% to 90% of those affected are women. However, more and more men are being diagnosed with interstitial cystitis.
• People with another disease characterized by chronic pain. This is because interstitial cystitis more commonly affects people with fibromyalgia, irritable bowel syndrome or vulvodynie. Thus, irritable bowel syndrome is 30 times more common in people with interstitial cystitis than in the general population.¹⁹. It seems that in people affected by these different health problems, the neurons responsible for transmitting pain messages to the brain have increased activity. The consequence would be a greater sensitivity to pain.
• Men being treated for a prostate. This is because interstitial cystitis is more common in those who suffer from prostatitis, a inflammation from the prostate.

Risk factors

A study in the United States of 645 women found a correlation between smoking and cystitis interstitial1. More studies are needed to determine if smoking actually contributes to the disease.