ArticleBMJ open2019
Is there a relationship between female genital mutilation/cutting and fistula? A statistical analysis using cross-sectional data from Demographic and Health Surveys in 10 sub-Saharan Africa countries.
Article in BMJ open, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Exploring the health complications of female genital mutilation through a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC public health · 2025Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Female genital mutilation/cutting incidence, diagnostic capacities, and obstetric outcomes among migrant women: a single-center retrospective analysis in a 10-year birth cohort in Austria.BMC public health · 2023Article
- Rare causes of genital fistula in nine African countries: a retrospective review.BMC women's health · 2022Article
- Rectovaginal Fistula Management in Low-Resource Settings.Clinics in colon and rectal surgery · 2022Review
- The Perception of African Immigrant Women Living in Spain Regarding the Persistence of FGM.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Article
- Consideration of Cultural Practices When Characterizing the Vaginal Microbiota Among African and African American Women.Biological research for nursing · 2021Article
- Trends and Determinants of Female Genital Mutilation in Ethiopia: Multilevel Analysis of 2000, 2005 and 2016 Ethiopian Demographic and Health Surveys.International journal of women's health · 2021Article
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Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesLiterature on associations between female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) and fistula points to a common belief that FGM/C predisposes women to developing fistula. This study explores this association using nationally representative survey data.
designA secondary statistical analysis of cross-sectional data from Demographic and Health Surveys was conducted to explore the association between FGM/C and fistula.
settingSub-Saharan Africa.
participantsWomen aged 15-49 years in Burkina Faso (n=17 087), Chad (n=17 719), Côte d'Ivoire (n=10 060), Ethiopia (n=14 070), Guinea (n=9142), Kenya (n=31 079), Mali (n=10 424), Nigeria (n=33 385), Senegal (n=15 688) and Sierra Leone (n=16 658).
main outcome measuresFistula symptoms.
resultsMultivariate logit modelling using pooled data from 10 countries showed that the odds of reporting fistula symptoms were 1.5 times (CI 1.06 to 2.21) higher for women whose genitals were cut and sewn closed than those who had undergone other types of FGM/C. Women who attended antenatal care (ANC) (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) 0.51, CI 0.36 to 0.71) and those who lived in urban areas (AOR 0.62, CI 0.44 to 0.89) were less likely to report fistula symptoms than those who did not attend ANC or lived in rural areas.
conclusionsSevere forms of FGM/C (infibulation) may predispose women to fistula. Contextual and socioeconomic factors may increase the likelihood of fistula. Multisectoral interventions that concurrently address harmful traditional practices such as FGM/C and other contextual factors that drive the occurrence of fistula are warranted. Promotion of ANC utilisation could be a starting point in the prevention of fistulas.
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