Prevalence and Demographic, Socioeconomic, and Behavioral Risk Factors of Self-Reported Symptoms of Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) among Ever-Married Women: Evidence from Nationally Representative Surveys in Bangladesh

Md. Nazmul Huda, Moin Uddin Ahmed, Md. Bakhtiar Uddin, Md Kamrul Hasan, Jalal Uddin and Tinashe Moira Dune
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Md. Nazmul Huda: School of Population Health, University of New South Wales, Kensington, NSW 2052, Australia
Moin Uddin Ahmed: Translation Health Research Institute, Western Sydney University, Campbelltown, NSW 2560, Australia
Md. Bakhtiar Uddin: School of Social Sciences, University of New South Wales, Kensington, NSW 2052, Australia
Md Kamrul Hasan: Bangladesh Institute of Social Research Trust, Dhaka 1207, Bangladesh
Jalal Uddin: Department of Community Health and Epidemiology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS B3H 1V7, Canada
Tinashe Moira Dune: School of Health Sciences, Western Sydney University, Campbelltown, NSW 2560, Australia

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 3, 1-15

Abstract: Sexually transmitted infections (STI) symptoms (e.g., abnormal genital discharge and genital sores/ulcers) are a major public health concern in Bangladesh because the symptoms can indicate an STI and cause sexual and reproductive health complications in women of reproductive age. To our knowledge, no study examined the prevalence and risk factors of STI symptoms using a nationally representative sample. This study investigates the prevalence of STI symptoms among ever-married women in Bangladesh and the associations of STI symptoms with various demographic, socioeconomic, and behavioral risk factors using the most recent available data (2007, 2011, and 2014) of the Bangladesh Demographic and Health Surveys (BDHS). The BDHS employs a two-stage stratified sampling technique. The analytic sample comprised 41,777 women of reproductive age (15–49 years). Outcome variables included STI symptoms: abnormal genital discharge and genital sores/ulcers. Multivariate logistic regression was employed to find the adjusted odds ratio with a 95% confidence interval to assess the associations of outcome measures with explanatory variables. The study found that the prevalence of abnormal genital discharge and genital sores/ulcers among ever-married women aged 15–49 years was 10% and 6%, respectively. Multivariable analysis revealed that for women aged 25–34 years, those who used contraceptives and married earlier had an increased likelihood of STI symptoms. Furthermore, women from the wealthiest wealth quintile and couple’s joint decision-making were less likely to have STI symptoms. Findings have implications for interventions efforts aiming to improve women’s sexual and reproductive health in Bangladesh.

Keywords: sexually transmitted infection; abnormal genital discharge; genital sores; determinants; ever-married women; sexual and reproductive health; Bangladesh (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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