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. 2016 Dec;43(12):750-755.
doi: 10.1097/OLQ.0000000000000531.

Intravaginal Practices and Prevalence of Sexual and Reproductive Tract Infections Among Women in Rural Malawi

Allahna Esber  1 , Nisha Rao, Alison Norris, Patricia Carr Reese, Jonathan Kandodo, Patrick Nampandeni, Enock Jumbe, Abigail Norris Turner
Affiliations

Intravaginal Practices and Prevalence of Sexual and Reproductive Tract Infections Among Women in Rural Malawi

Allahna Esber et al. Sex Transm Dis. 2016 Dec.

Abstract

Background: Many women engage in intravaginal practices (IVP) with a goal of improving genital hygiene and increasing sexual pleasure. Intravaginal practices can disrupt the genital mucosa, and some studies have found that IVP increases risk of acquisition of HIV and bacterial vaginosis (BV). Limited prior research also suggests significant associations between IVP, herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2), and high-risk types of human papillomavirus (HPV).

Methods: We examined associations between IVP and HPV, BV, and HSV-2 among 200 women in rural Malawi participating in a clinic-based study on sexual and reproductive tract infections. We calculated prevalence ratios for the associations between frequency and type of IVP and outcomes of HPV, BV, and HSV-2.

Results: Intravaginal practices were commonly performed, with 95% of women reporting current use of at least 1 practice. Infections were also frequently detected: Twenty-two percent of the sample had at least 1 high-risk HPV type, 51% had BV, and 50% were HSV-2 seropositive. We observed no significant associations between type of IVP, frequency of IVP, or a combined measure capturing type and frequency of IVP-and any of the infection outcomes.

Conclusions: Although both IVP and our outcomes of interest (BV, HPV, and HSV-2) were common in the study population, we did not detect associations between IVP type or frequency and any of the 3 infections. However, the high prevalence and frequency of IVP may have limited our ability to detect significant associations.

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Conflict of interest statement

No authors have any conflicts of interest to disclose.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Unadjusted prevalence ratios comparing different types of IVP and hr-HPV1 1Prevalence ratios > 1.0 indicates increased risk of hr-HPV with a particular type of IVP vs. not using that type
Figure 2
Figure 2
Unadjusted prevalence ratios comparing different types of IVP and BV1 1Prevalence ratios > 1.0 indicates increased risk of BV with a particular type of IVP vs. not using that type
Figure 3
Figure 3
Unadjusted prevalence ratios comparing different types of IVP and HSV-21 1Prevalence ratios > 1.0 indicates increased risk of HSV-2 with a particular type of IVP vs. not using that type
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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