Associations between Vaginal Douching Practice and Lower Genital Tract Symptoms and Menstrual Disorders among Young Women: A Search for Risk Modulating Factors | Chapter 15 | Emerging Research in Medical Sciences Vol. 1
Aim:
This study assessed the associations between vaginal douching practice and the
adverse reproductive tract outcomes, and the risk modulating factors among
young women.
Methodology: The data source was a
cross-sectional population based sample of 1488 women aged 18 - 35 years in a
university community. Self-administered socio-demographic and female genital
hygiene practices questionnaire were used to survey the participants.
Results: The overall prevalence of
vaginal douching was 79.8%. Pelvic pain, vaginal itching, and vaginal discharge
were significantly associated with higher odds for douching. Moreover,
participants with menstrual disorders such as menorrhagia, oligomenorrhea, and
inter-menstrual bleeding douche more often than those without these disorders.
Early-onset, higher-frequency, and prolonged douching, as well as douching with
commercial vaginal deodorant and inserting the nozzle of the douching tube
inside the vagina were associated with higher rate of pelvic and menstrual
disorders.
Conclusion: The present study
revealed a paradoxical relation between vaginal douching and adverse
reproductive tract disorders, which supports the hypothesis of confounding by
indication. The direction of the association is dependent on several modifiable
and un-modifiable risk factors.
Author(s) Details
Christopher E. Ekpenyong
Department of Human
Physiology, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, University of Uyo, Nigeria.
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