title: Health consequences of female genital mutilation/cutting in the Gambia, evidence into action.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C) is a harmful traditional practice with severe health complications, deeply rooted in many Sub-Saharan African countries. In The Gambia, the prevalence of FGM/C is 78.3% in women aged between 15 and 49 years. The objective of this study is to perform a first evaluation of the magnitude of the health consequences of FGM/C in The Gambia.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data were collected on types of FGM/C and health consequences of each type of FGM/C from 871 female patients who consulted for any problem requiring a medical gynaecologic examination and who had undergone FGM/C in The Gambia.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The prevalence of patients with different types of FGM/C were: type I, 66.2%; type II, 26.3%; and type III, 7.5%. Complications due to FGM/C were found in 299 of the 871 patients (34.3%). Even type I, the form of FGM/C of least anatomical extent, presented complications in 1 of 5 girls and women examined.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study shows that FGM/C is still practiced in all the six regions of The Gambia, the most common form being type I, followed by type II. All forms of FGM/C, including type I, produce significantly high percentages of complications, especially infections.
authors.affiliation: Cátedra de Transferencia del Conocimiento/Parc de Recerca UAB-Santander, Departamento de Antropología Social y Cultural, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain. adriana.kaplan@uab.cat
authors.forename: Adriana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kaplan
authors.forename: Suiberto
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hechavarría
authors.forename: Miguel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Martín
authors.forename: Isabelle
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Bonhoure
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000740:Anemia / Q000209:etiology; D019093:Circumcision, Female / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003906:Developing Countries; D005260:Female; D005714:Gambia; D006470:Hemorrhage / Q000209:etiology; D006801:Humans; D007239:Infections / Q000209:etiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D011183:Postoperative Complications; D055815:Young Adult