Prevalence of female genital tuberculosis, its risk factors and associated clinical features among the women of Andaman Islands, India: a community-based study.

OBJECTIVE

There is scarcity of information on the prevalence of female genital tuberculosis (FGTB) in the community. The present study was carried out to estimate the prevalence of FGTB, its risk factors and associated clinical features.

STUDY DESIGN

Community-based cross-sectional survey.

METHODS

This study was carried during October 2011 and May 2014 in the Andaman Islands. A total of 13,300 women aged 20-59 years were primarily screened using a structured questionnaire. About 721 (5.4%) were found initially eligible for screening for genital tuberculosis by clinical examination and specimen collection for laboratory tests but only 460 (63.8%) expressed their willingness. Endometrial specimens were collected from 405 (88%) subjects. The association of the potential risk factors with genital tuberculosis was tested by Chi-squared test. A similar analysis was performed to identify clinical features associated with genital tuberculosis.

RESULTS

The estimated prevalence of FGTB was 45.1 cases per 100,000 women (95% confidence interval [CI]: 16.6-98.1). Infertility and oligomenorrhoea were identified as clinical features associated with FGTB. Past history of tuberculosis and history of close contact with tuberculosis cases were identified as risk factors.

CONCLUSIONS

This study shows the prevalence of FGTB among the female population of the Andaman Islands. Though the estimated prevalence was close to the expected prevalence, but as only 63.8% of the eligible women could be adequately screened, a much higher prevalence of FGTB could not be ruled out. Infertility, oligomenorrhoea, past history of tuberculosis and contact with tuberculosis case were identified as factors associated with genital tuberculosis.