Investigation on reproductive tract infection among floating married women of childbearing age in Fengtai district in Beijing

Objective In order to develop plans for effective intervention measures, prevalence and health-seeking behavior related to reproductive tract infection among floating married women of childbearing age in Fengtai district in Beijing were studied. Methods Cross-sectional study was carried out. Two thousand and sixty-nine eligible women were randomly selected from strata based on their home provinces. From June to July 2001, the subjects were given face-to-face interview at the Fengtai family planning clinic in Beijing using standard questionnaire followed by gynecologic examination and laboratory tests. Results Thirty point three percent of the subjects were found to have reproductive tract infections (RTI) by laboratory tests. Prevalence rates of bacterial vaginosis, candida and trichomonas vaginitis were 22.2 %, 4.9 % and 2.1 % respectively. Prevalence rates of chlamydia, gonorrhea, condyloma acuminatum and syphilis were 2.2 %, 1.6 %, 0.5 % and 0.2 % respectively. Of these infected women, only 43.1 % (270/626) were symptomatic, and 61.5 % (166/270) of these women with symptoms had sought treatment. Conclusion Compared to other results in the literature, we found a relatively high prevalence of RTI in our study population. Only a small proportion of these infected women were symptomatic but only few of them sought treatment. We suggested that the provision of more family planning service and promotion of RTI knowledge to the floating women of childbearing age.