We found a match
Your institution may have access to this item. Find your institution then sign in to continue.
- Title
Douching Raises Infection Risk, but Only for Women Without Bacterial Vaginosis.
- Authors
Hollander, D.
- Abstract
Women with symptoms of pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) who have douched recently are nearly twice as likely as those who have not practiced douching to have an upper genital tract disease, according to findings from a large, multisite clinical study. Douching is more common among women with bacterial vaginosis than among those without this condition, which has been suspected of facilitating the link between douching and upper genital tract inflammation (endometritis) or infection (chlamydia or gonorrhea). However, the association between douching and upper genital tract disease is statistically significant only among women who do not have bacterial vaginosis. The study included women aged 14-37 attending 13 clinical sites (emergency departments, clinics and sexually transmitted disease units) in the eastern, southern and central United States in 1996-1999. Women were eligible to participate if they had signs of PID. When the researchers used logistic regression to adjust for background and other risk factors, women who had douched within the past six days retained an elevated risk of upper genital tract disease (odds ratio, 1.7).
- Subjects
UNITED States; PELVIC inflammatory disease; AMERICAN women; GENITALIA; INFLAMMATION; GONORRHEA
- Publication
Family Planning Perspectives, 2001, Vol 33, Issue 5, p240
- ISSN
0014-7354
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.2307/2673794