Prevalence and correlates of cervico-vaginal clinical syndromes among women attending a health camp in Lalitpur district of Nepal

BACKGROUND: Sexual and reproductive health of women is a major public health problem in Nepal. Screening of cervico-vaginal clinical syndromes could potentially provide insights to the prevalence of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), which is not known. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the prevalence and factors associated with cervico-vaginal clinical syndromes in the socio-behavioral, medical, and public health context of Nepal. METHODS: Married women attending a clinical health camp held by the Nepal Fertility Care Centerin Khokana of Lalitpur district were recruited to the study. Seventy-three participants completed face-to-face questionnaires on basic socio-demographic, behavioral and reproductive health factors and underwent pelvic screening including clinical diagnosis of cervicitis and vaginitis. An univariate analysis was performed to determine if any of the self-reported variables were associated with abnormal pelvic examination (cervicitis and/or vaginitis). RESULTS: Vaginitis was diagnosed in three (4.4%) participants, while cervicitis was detected in 16 (23.5%) women. None of the participants reported any high risk sexual behavior. However, 28% of the participants reported having had STI diagnosis in the past and was associated (P