Why menstrual pain becomes chronic pelvic pain
Official title: Cross Organ Mechanisms in Chronic Pelvic Pain
Funded at Endeavor Health Clinical Operations · NIH-11349686 · Data updated 2026-11-12
We will follow young women with menstrual pain, including those with bladder sensitivity, to learn who develops ongoing pelvic pain and which early signs predict it.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Endeavor Health Clinical Operations NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Evanston, United States) |
| Project start | May 15, 2023 |
| Project end | March 31, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $663,322 |
| NIH project number | 5R01DK100368-09 |
| Project ID | NIH-11349686 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are young women who experience menstrual pain, especially those who also notice bladder-related pain or bladder sensitivity.
✕Less likely to help
People without menstrual cycles (for example, men or postmenopausal women) or those with long-standing chronic pelvic pain are unlikely to be helped directly by this enrollment-focused work.
What this research studies
You would join a group of about 1,050 young women and share health information over time. The team will include roughly 150 women with menstrual pain plus bladder sensitivity, 750 with menstrual pain alone, and 150 without pelvic pain as comparison groups. Participants will complete a virtual bladder-filling screening, report pelvic symptoms, and have measures of sensory sensitivity and psychological factors, with some tests done in person. Researchers will track symptoms for two years to see who develops chronic pelvic pain and which early measures signal higher risk.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could help identify who is likely to develop chronic pelvic pain and guide earlier, targeted prevention or treatment approaches.
How similar studies have gone: Prior small pilot studies from this team found bladder hypersensitivity in some with dysmenorrhea and a higher short-term risk of chronic pelvic pain, but large prospective validation is novel.
Where this research is happening
-
Endeavor Health Clinical Operations
Evanston, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Tu, Frank Fu-Sheng — Endeavor Health Clinical Operations
- Study coordinator: Tu, Frank Fu-Sheng
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.