Condom use reduces risk of bacterial vaginosis

Condom use reduces risk of bacterial vaginosis
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - For women who have a high riskof contracting a sexually transmitted disease, their risk ofdeveloping bacterial vaginosis and the associated changes invaginal microflora is reduced if they use condoms during everysexual encounter, according to a report in the journalEpidemiology.
Bacterial vaginosis is caused by an imbalance of thebacteria normally found in a woman's vagina, referred to asvaginal microflora, which is upset by an overgrowth of bacterianot usually present. It is the most common vaginal infection inwomen of child-bearing age. Symptoms include discharge, odor,pain, itching and burning.
Although any woman can get bacterial vaginosis, someactivities or behaviors can upset the normal balance ofbacteria in the vagina and put women at increased risk. Theseinclude having a new sex partner or multiple sex partners andusing an intrauterine device (IUD) for contraception.
It remains unclear how effective condoms are at reducingbacterial sexually transmitted infections, explain Dr. RobertaB. Ness and colleagues from the University of Pittsburgh,Pennsylvania. They therefore investigated condom use, bacterialvaginosis and the growth of vaginal microorganisms associatedwith bacterial vaginosis in 871 women at high risk for sexuallytransmitted diseases.
Overall, women who consistently used condoms (10/10 sexacts) had a 45-percent decreased risk of bacterial vaginosiscompared with women who did not use condoms, the authorsreport.
For women at an intermediate stage of bacterial imbalance,consistent condom use had even more protective effects (63percent risk reduction)," the researchers found.
The study findings "lend some support to the theory thatbacterial vaginosis is sexually transmitted, and provides afurther rationale for recommending that women use condoms toreduce the risk of bacterial vaginosis," the investigatorsconclude.
SOURCE: Epidemiology, November 2007.