Hysterectomy in the United States, 1980–1993

Frequency of Hysterectomy
Approximately 600,000 hysterectomies are performed each year in the United States at an estimated annual cost of more than $5 billion. More than one-fourth of U.S. women will have this procedure by the time they are 60 years of age. Hysterectomy is the second most frequent major surgical procedure among reproductive-aged women.
From 1980 through 1993, an estimated 8.6 million U.S. women had a hysterectomy.
The rates of hysterectomy per 1,000 women aged 15 years and older declined slightly from 1980 (7.1) to 1987 (6.6). From 1988 to 1993, the average annual rate was stable at 5.5. The decline observed from 1987 to 1988 is a result of changes in the survey used to collect the data.
Women at High Risk for Hysterectomy
From 1980 through 1993, rates of hysterectomy differed by age.
Each year, rates were highest among women aged 40–44 years and lowest among women aged 15–24 years.
Of all hysterectomies, 55% were among women aged 35–49 years.
Hysterectomy rates also differed by geographic region.
From 1988 through 1993, almost twice as many women received hysterectomies in the South (6.8 per 1,000 women) as in the Northeast (3.9). The average annual rates were 5.5 in the Midwest and 4.9 in the West.
During 1980–1993, the average age of women who had a hysterectomy was 47.7 years in the Northeast, 44.5 in the Midwest, 44.0 in the West, and 41.6 in the South.
Annual rates did not differ significantly by race.
Conditions Associated with Hysterectomy
During 1988–1993, the three conditions most often associated with hysterectomy were uterine leiomyoma ("fibroid tumors"), endometriosis, and uterine prolapse.
Among women less than 30 years of age, the conditions most frequently associated with hysterectomy were menstrual disturbances and cervical dysplasia. Among women aged 30–34 years, endometriosis was the most frequently associated diagnosis; among those 35–54 years, fibroid tumors; and among women 55 years and older, uterine prolapse or cancer.
Hysterectomy Surveillance
CDC compiles information on hysterectomies by using data from CDC’s National Hospital Discharge Survey. This survey, which collects data on discharges from U.S. hospitals, provides the only population-based estimates of U.S. hysterectomy rates.
Data from national hysterectomy surveillance can be used to increase understanding of the relative public health importance of the conditions that lead to hysterectomy, identify changes in clinical practice, and assist in setting biomedical research priorities.
The complete report may be printed by downloading the 15-page August 8, 1997, Special Focus: Surveillance for Reproductive Health surveillance summary, Hysterectomy Surveillance--United States, 1980–1993 (796KB PDF) Source: MMWR, August 8, 1997, Vol 46, No SS04;1.
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Date last reviewed: 04/17/2006