Prevalence of sexually transmitted disease syndromes in tribal population of central India.
BACKGROUND
A syndromic approach has been advocated for identification and management of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) in countries where diagnostic laboratory tests are not consistently available. A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted to discover the prevalence of STD syndromes in tribal population of central India.


METHODS
All married men and women in the age group of 15-49 years from selected villages were enumerated by house-to-house visit. Individuals were interviewed using pre-coded, pre-tested questionnaires about STD syndromes of urethral discharge, vaginal discharge, dysurea, genital ulcer, inguinal swelling, scrotal swelling and lower abdominal pain.


RESULTS
Of the 2568 individuals interviewed, 326 (12.7%) had at least one STD syndrome. The prevalence was almost double in women (17.6%) than in men (8.4%). The highest prevalence (16.2%) was observed in the age group 30-34 years followed by 35-39 years (14.7%). The commonest syndrome in women was vaginal discharge (16.0%) while in men the commonest syndrome was dysurea (1.8%).


CONCLUSIONS
The low level of STD syndromes among tribal populations offers an opportunity to prevent a potential epidemic in this disadvantaged community. As no baseline data are available, the findings form the basis for future work in this area.
Rao
V G
VG
Regional Medical Research Centre for Tribals, (Indian Council of Medical Research), Nagpur Road, PO Garha, Jabalpur - 482 003 (Madhya Pradesh), India. drvgrao@rediffmail.com
Anvikar
A
A
Savargaonkar
D
D
Bhat
J
J
Yadav
R
R
Tiwary
B K
BK
Abbad
A
A
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003695:Delivery of Health Care / Q000592:standards; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007194:India / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D012423:Rural Health; D017678:Sex Distribution; D012749:Sexually Transmitted Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013577:Syndrome; D055815:Young Adult