Sexually transmitted diseases and reproductive tract infections among contraceptive users.

OBJECTIVE

To establish the association between the use of contraceptives and the prevalence of sexually transmitted diseases (STD) and other reproductive tract infections (RTI).

METHODS

840 women who used contraception and who attended the Fundação Nossa Senhora do Bom Sucesso's Family Planning Clinic (FNSBS-FPC) over a 2-year period (1993-1994) were studied. All women answered a standard epidemiological survey and underwent a clinical laboratory assessment. The Chi-square test and a logistic regression model were used for statistical analysis.

RESULTS

The majority of women were young (58.7%); low educational achievers (59.0%); middle or working class (85.0%); had a fixed partner (79.8%), and were of non-African origin (95.6%). Of the 627 women who responded, 4.1% stated that their sexual behavior was of high risk. The prevalence of any infection and particularly of bacterial vaginosis (BV), was highest among users of the intra-uterine device (IUD). Use of an IUD (P = 0.001) and high risk behavior (P = 0.04) were the variables associated to presence of a STD/RTI in multiple regression analysis.

CONCLUSION

Results suggest that STD/RTIs basically occur due to high risk behavior and that, with the exception of an association between use of IUD and BV, the method of contraception does not affect the incidence of these infections.