title: Intimate partner violence and symptoms of reproductive tract infections among married Indian women.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess the association of 3 types of intimate partner violence (IPV)-verbal, physical, and sexual-with self-reported symptoms of reproductive tract infections (RTIs) among married Indian women.
  
  
  METHODS
  A cross-sectional analysis of population-based data from the 2005-2006 Indian National Family Health Survey-3 was conducted. The sample comprised 65610 married Indian women of reproductive age (15-49years).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Overall, 23.9% of women experienced at least 1 type of IPV, and 9.6% reported at least 1 RTI symptom in the year preceding the survey. Verbal, physical, and sexual IPV each demonstrated a significant independent effect on the reporting of genital sores and abnormal genital discharge. Additionally, the more types of IPV a woman experienced, the higher her odds of also reporting genital sores and abnormal genital discharge.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  No single type of IPV explains women's risk of RTIs; rather, there are multiple pathways by which women's experience of IPV can result in RTIs. Sexual and reproductive healthcare that incorporates IPV support services is needed to meet the special needs of abused women. Additionally, RTI screening should be considered by non-governmental organizations providing care for women who have experienced IPV, especially those who report multiple types of violence.
authors.affiliation: Office of Population Research, Princeton University, Princeton, USA. awinter@princeton.edu
authors.forename: Amy
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Winter
authors.forename: Rob
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Stephenson
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007194:India / Q000453:epidemiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D060737:Reproductive Tract Infections / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012306:Risk; D013179:Spouse Abuse / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D055815:Young Adult