Douching is a common practice among American women, especially in the South, among Black women, and among women who are less educated. Douching has been associated with many adverse health events including pelvic inflammatory disease and ectopic pregnancy, and to a much less well established degree, sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). The proposed project is a cross-sectional study of reproductive tract infections and douching practices in Jefferson County, AL. Women attending the County STD clinic and 2 County Family Planning Clinics will be interviewed prior to examination regarding douching practices and history of sexual activities, pregnancies, contraceptive practices, and STDs. Presence of infections and pH of vaginal secretions will be ascertained from appropriate tests. Cases will be women presenting with syphilis, gonorrhea, trichomonas, chlamydia , or bacterial vaginosis. Over a 29 month period 4,370 women, 1,400 from the STD clinic and 2,970 from the Family Planning Clinics, will be interviewed. This should provide about 935 STD cases, 577 cases of bacterial vaginosis without an STD, and 2,858 women with no infections. Douching practices among women with and without a reproductive tract infections will be compared. Logistic regression analysis will be used to assess the following: 1) whether douching is associated with increased risks of STDs or bacterial vaginosis; 2) whether douching is associated with vaginal pH; 3) whether there is a dose-response relationship regarding frequency of douching; and 4) whether the risk differs according to preparation used. We believe the similarities in socioeconomic status of women attending the clinics will be substantial making douching practices potentially one of the most distinguishing characteristics of women with and without an infection. Furthermore, the findings will be readily generalizable to a population that historically and currently has some of the highest STD rates in the nation.
