Prevalence of sexually transmitted diseases in an urban slum area

Abstract

Background: The early diagnosis and treatment of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) helps in reducing the incidence of human immunodeficiency virus. High prevalence of STDs and sexually transmitted infections has been reported from various parts of India. Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study was carried out in an urban slum area in 140 females age 16 years and above to study the prevalence of STDs. For the diagnosis of STDs, the syndromic approach was used. Results: Majority of them (34.2%) were in the age group of 21–29 years. Among presenting complaints, low backache was the most common (48.5%) followed by dysmenorrhea (28.5%) of women. Lower abdominal pain was evident in 16.5%; it was highest in the age group of 21–29 years (20.8%). Vaginal discharge was present in 22.8%, it was highest in the age group of 21–29 years (46.9%). Genital ulcer was seen in 4 (2.9%) cases. Association between STDs and marital status, education, occupation was not found to be statistically significant. Conclusions: Our observations suggest that symptoms of STDs were high in the population, studied. However, no association could be established between presence of STDs and socio-demographic variables.

Keywords

• prevalence
• sexually transmitted diseases
• urban slum area